Relations between Nazi Germany and the Arab world

Muslim soldiers of the Handschar Waffen SS reading a pamphlet written by Grand Mufti of Jerusalem , Haj Amin al-Husseini titled 'Islam and Judaism.' They wear distinctive Handschar tarboosh headgear, and insignias (scimitars and swastikas ) on their lapels. Relations between Nazi Germany and the Arab World refers to political and military links between Germany and Arab nationalists during the era of Nazi Germany (1933–1945). The relationship between the Nazi movement and leadership and the Arab world encompassed contempt, propaganda, collaboration and in some instances emulation. Cooperative relationships were founded on shared hostilities toward common enemies, such as British and French imperialism , colonialism , communism and Zionism .

Rashid Ali al-Gaylani and Haj Amin al-Husseini , speaking at the anniversary of the 1941 Iraqi coup in Berlin The relationship between Nazi Germany (1933–1945) and the leadership of the Arab world encompassed contempt, propaganda , collaboration and in some instances emulation. Cooperative political and military relationships were founded on shared hostilities toward common enemies, such as British and French imperialism and colonialism , communism , and Zionism . Another key foundation of this collaboration was the anti-semitism of the Nazis, which was admired by some Arab and Muslim leaders, most notably Hajj Amin al-Husayni (see Antisemitism in Islam ). In public and private, Adolf Hitler and Heinrich Himmler made warm statements about Islam as a religion and political ideology, describing it as a more disciplined, militaristic, political, and practical form of religion than Christianity , and commending what they perceived to be Muhammad 's skill in politics and military leadership. However, official Nazi racial ideology also considered Arabs and North Africans to be racially inferior to Germans, a sentiment echoed by Hitler and other Nazi leaders to deprecate them. Hitler left no doubt about his disdain for the Arab world, writing in Mein Kampf , "As a völkish man, who appraises the value of men on a racial basis, I am prevented by mere knowledge of the racial inferiority of these so-called 'oppressed nations' from linking the destiny of my own people with theirs". The Arabic-speaking world has attracted particular attention from historians examining fascism beyond Europe. Focusing exclusively on pro-Nazi and pro-Fascist forces, these scholars have tended to emphasize the appeal that Fascism and Nazism had across the Arab world. More recently however, this narrative has been challenged by a number of scholars who assert that Arab political debates in the 1930s and 1940s were quite complex. Fascism and Nazism, they argue, were discussed alongside other political ideologies, such as communism, liberalism, and constitutionalism. Moreover, the recent revisionist works have stressed the anti-Fascist and anti-Nazi voices and movements in the Arab world. Despite the Mufti's efforts to get German backing for Arab independence, Hitler refused, remarking that he "wanted nothing from the Arabs". During World War II and the Holocaust: Old Themes, New Archival Findings". Nazi Propaganda for the Arab World . Among them are the works by Peter Wien (2006) and Orit Bashkin (2009) on Iraq, Rene Wildangel (2007) on Palestine, Götz Nordbruch (2009) on Lebanon and Syria, and Israel Gershoni and James Jankowski (2010) on Egypt. Until recently, European and Anglo-American research on these topics – often based on a history of ideas approach – tended to take for granted the natural affinity of Arabs towards Nazism. More recent works have contextualized authoritarian and totalitarian trends in the Arab world within a broad political spectrum, choosing subaltern perspectives and privileging the analysis of local voices in the press over colonial archives and the voices of grand theoreticians.

Arab reaction, both collaboration and condemnation, to Nazi Germany Rashid Ali al-Gaylani and Amin al-Husseini , speaking at the anniversary of the pro-Nazi 1941 Iraqi coup d'état in Berlin . The relationship between Nazi Germany (1933–1945) and the leadership of the Arab world encompassed contempt, propaganda , collaboration , and emulation in some instances. Cooperative political and military relationships were founded on shared hostilities toward common enemies, such as the United Kingdom and the French Third Republic , along with communism , and Zionism . Another foundation of this collaboration was the antisemitism of the Nazis and their hostility towards the United Kingdom and France, which was admired by Arab and Muslim leaders, most notably the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem , Amin al-Husseini (see Antisemitism in Islam ). In public and private, Adolf Hitler and Heinrich Himmler made warm statements about Islam as a religion and a political ideology , describing it as a more disciplined, militaristic , political, and practical form of religion than Christianity , and commending what they perceived were Muhammad 's skill in politics and military leadership. However, the official Nazi racial ideology considered Arabs and North Africans racially inferior to Germans , a sentiment which was echoed in deprecating statements which were made by Hitler and other Nazi leaders. Hitler left no doubt about his disdain for the Arab world, writing in Mein Kampf : "As a völkisch man, who appraises the value of men on a racial basis, I am prevented by mere knowledge of the racial inferiority of these so-called 'oppressed nations' from linking the destiny of my own people with theirs". Despite the Mufti's efforts to acquire German backing for Arab independence, Hitler refused, remarking that he "wanted nothing from the Arabs". The Game Player: Confessions of the CIA's original operative. 1989. "Most of them (the Nazis) were anti-Arab , although they had the wit to conceal that fact." Herf, Jeffrey (December 2009). During World War II and the Holocaust: Old Themes, New Archival Findings". In Böhler, Jochen; Gerwarth, Robert (eds.). The Waffen-SS: A European History . S2CID 133436194 . • "Hajj Amin al-Husayni: Wartime Propagandist" . Nazi Propaganda for the Arab World .