What Did Hitler Think of Zionism?

2 months ago
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Adolf Hitler’s views on Zionism were complex, opportunistic, and deeply rooted in his ideology. He sometimes viewed Zionism, the movement for a Jewish homeland in Palestine, as useful for his own goals, particularly in the early years of the Nazi regime.
In the 1930s, before the persecution policies had begun in full, some German officials (and at times Hitler himself) saw Zionism as potentially aligning with their goal of removing Jews from Germany. The Nazis briefly cooperated with German Zionist organizations in the Haavara Agreement, which facilitated Jewish emigration to Palestine in exchange for transferring some of their wealth. Hitler approved this as a temporary policy because it encouraged Jewish emigration, not because he supported Zionism ideologically.
The idea was that whether Jews were communists, bankers, or Zionists, they were all enemies of the German people. Hitler did not support Zionism—he saw it as part of the broader Jewish threat. However, he briefly exploited it for tactical reasons in the 1930s to encourage Jewish emigration. His ultimate goal was not the establishment of a Jewish homeland but the eradication of Jews entirely.

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