Nazis, Islamists, and the making of the modern Middle East

357 Pages·2014·4.585 MB·English

by  Barry Rubin, Wolfgang G. Schwanitz

Nazis, Islamists, and the Making
of the Modern Middle East
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Nazis, Islamists,
and the Making
of the Modern
Middle East
B a r ry ruBi n
a n d
W o l f g a n g g. S c hW a n i t z
new haven & london
Archival research by Wolfgang G. Schwanitz for this book was partially made possible by
the Education Fund of the Middle East Forum in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Copyright © 2014 by Barry Rubin and Wolfgang G. Schwanitz.
All rights reserved.
This book may not be reproduced, in whole or in part, including illustrations, in any form
(beyond that copying permitted by Sections 107 and 108 of the U.S. Copyright Law and
except by reviewers for the public press), without written permission from the publishers.
Yale University Press books may be purchased in quantity for educational, business,
or promotional use. For information, please e-mail [email protected] (U.S. office) or
[email protected] (U.K. office).
Set in Sabon type by Integrated Publishing Solutions.
Printed in the United States of America.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Rubin, Barry M.
Nazis, Islamists, and the making of the modern Middle East / Barry Rubin,
Wolfgang G. Schwanitz.
pages cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-300-14090-3 (hardback)
1. Middle East—Foreign relations—Germany. 2. Germany—Foreign relations—Middle
East. 3. National socialism and Islam. 4. World War, 1939–1945—Participation,
Muslim. 5. Middle East—History—20th century. I. Schwanitz, Wolfgang G.,
1955– II. Title.
DS63.2.G4R823 2014
327.43056—dc23
2013028622
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
This paper meets the requirements of ANSI/NISO Z39.48–1992 (Permanence of Paper).
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
To the memory of relatives killed in the Shoah: Dolhinov,
Poland: Haya Rubin Perlmutter and Azriel, Haim, and Yaakov
Yermiyahu Perlmutter. Shmuel, Rahel Leah, Leah Rivka, Pinkas
Leib, Ethel, and Moshe Grosbein. Rahel Dimenshtein and
Yirimayahu and Moshe Dimenshtein. Turo, Czechoslovakia:
Maria, Jozef, Artur, Ilsa, and Erika Dub
—Barry Rubin
Dedicated to my parents: Margot Schwanitz and Wolfgang
Schwanitz (1929–2013)
—Wolfgang G. Schwanitz
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Contents
Preface ix
List of Archive Abbreviations xii
1. From Station Z to Jerusalem 1
2. A Christian Imperial Strategy of Islamic Revolution 11
3. A Jihad Made in Germany 32
4. An Islamism Sheltered in Berlin 60
5. Al-Husaini’s Revolt 87
6. The Nazi–Arab/Islamist Alliance Prepares for Battle 109
7. Al-Husaini in Search of an Empire 122
8. Germany’s Muslim Army 144
9. A Bid for Partnership in the Axis 175
10. The War After the War 192
vii
viii contents
11. The Arab States’ Useful Nazis 209
12. How the Axis Legacy Shapes Today’s Middle East 233
Notes 255
Index 325
Preface
The story of Nazi Germany’s involvement in the Middle East has
hitherto largely been viewed as a dramatic tale of might-have-been that
was nevertheless marginal to Middle East history and the course of
World War II. In fact, however, this episode was central to the modern
history of the Middle East and continues to reverberate many decades
later given its profound effects on Arab nationalism, Islamism, and the
course taken by the Palestinian Arab movement.
The recent release by the U.S. government of massive quantities of
both wartime and postwar documents coupled with the translation of
previously unused German documents and Arabic-language accounts
permits a much fuller telling of the story of the interactions among
Arabs, Muslims, and Germans.
To understand this history requires bringing together several elements.
First, there was the German strategy, beginning in the late nineteenth
century, that saw Berlin’s interests in the Middle East as being linked to
an Islamic jihad against Germany’s European rivals conducted with the
help of Muslim organizations.
On the other side were radical forces of nationalism and Islamism
in rebellion against the regional status quo. These latter groups would
become not merely Nazi Germany’s protégés but its partners due to
common interests and a set of parallel ideas. This was, then, neither
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