Germany Must Perish!: and The War Goal of World Plutocracy

The March 1941 publication of Germany Must Perish! provoked one of the most intense propaganda exchanges of World War II. The book, written by an American Jew, Theodore Kaufman, advocated the physical destruction of the German people through mass sterilization and the total dismemberment of the German state.

Because of Kaufman’s claimed links to the policy advisors of the American president, Germany’s reaction to the plan was swift. Nazi Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels ordered a rebuttal and analysis written of Kaufman’s book, and this featured in much Home Front propaganda for the rest of the war.

Ironically, significant sections of Kaufman’s book, despite being dismissed as the work of a loner, came true at the end of the war.

At least 12 million Germans were expelled from their land following the end of the war, and their deportation became the single largest transfer of any population in modern European history. The majority were expelled from the German territories in the eastern territories of Germany which were handed over to Poland and the Soviet Union (about 7 million) and from Czechoslovakia (about 3 million). It is estimated that up to two million Germans died during these expulsions.

In one sense at least, Kaufman’s predictions came true.

This version contains for the first time published together, the full text of Kaufman’s original work and Nazi Germany’s official reaction to it.

A fascinating historical document which provides an insight into the mindsets on both sides of that great and awful conflict.

Contents:

Part I: Germany Must Perish: A leading American Jewish leader calls for the physical extermination of Germans and Germany.

Part II: The War Goal of World Plutocracy: A leading Nazi author analyzes and answers Kaufman’s book.