The Nazi's and The Protocols
- John Zek
- Apr 17
- 4 min read
By the 1930s the Fascists had gained power in Germany and The Protocols were published in multiple print runs. Despite their ideology Hitler and his inner circle had understood The Protocols were a fabrication early on. Joseph Goebbels, his minister for propaganda wrote in 1924 “I believe in the inner, but not the factual, truth of The Protocols”[i].
Hitler in his memoir wrote how Jewish newspapers complained of The Protocols as a forgery and considered this as “the best proof that they are authentic” but then acknowledges “it is completely indifferent from what Jewish brains these disclosures originate.”[ii]
(This quote may seem a little unclear, Hitler is suggesting that maybe The Protocols is a hoax by Jews as a way to make them appear as victims. A bit like how Holocaust deniers say the Holocaust was created by Jews. He is also suggesting that the proof that it is true is that Jews want the book banned, a classic case of circular logic)
In speeches Hitler mentioned The Protocols only once, in 1933 when after announcing a boycott of Jewish stores he justified it as defence against ‘the plan of Basel’(a reference to the first Zionist conference held in Switzerland that conspiracists purport is where The Protocols was recorded).[iii]
Jewish Humour Jewish culture is known for its profound and dark humour, which often recognises and plays on antisemitic tropes. Here is one such wry joke told in the 1930’s: Altman and his secretary were sitting in a coffeehouse in Berlin in 1935. “Here Altmann,” said his secretary. “I notice you’re reading Der Sturmer! I can’t understand why you’re carrying a Nazi libel sheet. Are you some kind of masochist, or, God forbid, a self-hating Jew?” “On the contrary, Frau Epstein. When I used to read the Jewish papers, all I learned about were pogroms, riots in Palestine, and assimilation in America. But now that I read Der Sturmer, I see so much more: that the Jews control all the banks, that we dominate in the arts, and that we’re on the verge of taking over the entire world. You know- it makes me feel a whole lot better!” [iv]
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Dr. Randall Bytwerk, an academic on Nazi propaganda asserts the Nazis did not utilise The Protocols for propaganda on the general population but rather for the already indoctrinated and fanatical members. There were many reasons for this; it was a clumsy text and remarks about the Gold standard and early 1900 political issues would have already seemed dated by the 1930s. Hagemeister agrees that as effective propaganda it wasn’t suitable; it contained no names or dates with which to create emotional attachment.
Despite The Protocols basically relic of the 18th century aristocracy at the time, Adolf Hitler was a firm believer of the ‘Judeo-Masonic conspiracy’ writing in his memoir:
“The propaganda which the Freemasons had carried on among the so-called intelligentsia, whereby their pacifist teaching paralysed the instinct for national self-preservation… by means of the Press, which was almost everywhere in Jewish hands”.[v]
The Freemasons were persecuted alongside Jews by the Nazis. In the mid-1930s the Nazi regime disbanded Freemason lodges, and looted their property, with some Masonry regalia used as props in Anti-Masonic museum exhibits which staged fake Masonic halls replete with skulls and occult symbols. Most lay Freemasons avoided arrest if they renounced the order whereas many senior members were sent to camps. There are no concrete numbers of victims as many records were destroyed and there was no central list of members, some estimate as many as 80,000 German Freemasons died, while other sources claim up to 200,000. [vi]
Strangely, The Protocols were no longer published in Nazi Germany from 1939 onwards, Hagemeister suggests that the Nazi government were mindful of the comparison that could be made between their own actions versus their fictious world conquering Jewish enemy. [vii] This is classic fascist tactics that are reminiscent of abusers (see here for more) DARVO tactics show that 'every accusation is a confession'- this might remind you of the MAGA crowd currently in the U.S, years ago they were scared of black helicopters and FEMA deathcamps, now they are cheering for Trump to lock up his political opponents.
The rest of the European story is well known, the holocaust and extermination began.
Following the war The Protocols for the most part fell into disfavour in Europe and the U.S, only the miniscule extreme-right spread the propaganda amongst themselves and the popularity of The Protocols morphed into an entirely new type of conspiracism. It was one that linked esoteric concepts such as alien abductions, the Illuminati and the New World Order and it all began from the hippy movement.
[i] Randall Bytwerk. Believing in 'Inner Truth': The Protocols of the Elders of Zion in Nazi Propaganda, 1933–1945. Holocaust and Genocide Studies 29, no. 2 (2015): 212–229.
[ii] William J. Novak and Moshe Waldoks, The Big Book of Jewish Humor, 1981, http://ci.nii.ac.jp/ncid/BA18257270. P. 61
[iii] Adolf Hitler. Ralph Manheim [Trans] Mein Kampf. Houghton Miflin Company, 1971. P.307-308
[iv] Referencing the location of the 1897 Zionist conference. Randall Bytwerk. Believing in 'Inner Truth': The Protocols of the Elders of Zion in Nazi Propaganda, 1933–1945. Holocaust and Genocide Studies 29, no. 2 (2015): 212–229.
[v] Adolf Hitler & James Murphy [trans]. Mein Kampf. (Hurst and Blackett Ltd, 1942). P. 266.
[vi] Dragos Antoniu Vanghelie. “Fraternal Ties in Nationalist Eyes: The Fate of Freemasonry in the Age of European Nationalism.” Academia.edu. (December 9, 2019) 2019.https://www.academia.edu/41231208/Fraternal_Ties_in_Nationalist_Eyes_the_Fate_of_Freemasonry_in_the_Age_of_European_Nationalism P. 144 (80,000 claim)
[vii] Hagemeister The Perennial Conspiracy Theory. P.11
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