Tuesday, 14th of December, 2004

Here’s a website dedicated to exploding the myth that the Allies were unaware of the fate of the Jews in Nazi Germany and its possessions during WW II: We Never Knew. They present a chronological collection of book covers from 1932 to 1943, exposing just how much was known, even from before Hitler came to power. It’s a fascinating exposé, and is fascinating as well for examples of propaganda art and design from the period.
The descriptions for each book (available if you click on the cover images) are illuminating. Take for example Mein Kampf, published in Germany in 1925, an in English translation here in 1933, but “with many of the viles parts omitted”. This nevertheless remained:

“4. None but members of the nation may be citizens of the [German] state. None but those of German blood, whatever their creed, may be members of the nation. No Jew, therefore, may be a member of the nation.�

Large quantities of other evidence pile up, making it impossible to suggest that by 1934, one year into Hitler’s reign, the UK and America could not have been aware of how serious the situation was for Europe’s Jews and other minorities, and for the rest of the world.

2 Responses to “We Never Knew”

1. Merrick says:
   December 19th, 2004 at 3:40 am

   Mein Kampf has pages and pages of this stuff. But that it was published over here doesn’t in itself prove our awareness. That proof comes from the fact that it was certainly widely known.

   My copy says it’s a December 1935 UK edition published by the Paternoster Library, a reprint of their edition that was first issued only two months previously. Before this cheap edition, it was published in October 1933 and reached its tenth reprint in January 1934. The size of each imprint isn’t stated, but clearly a lot of copies were shifted in a short space of time.

   Furthermore, my edition has a page of review quotes from 7 diferent sources. Interestingly, they’re phrased without any actual praise; ‘The News Chronicle called it “an astonishing book”, the Evening News said “it commands attention”, Morning Post,” we recommend a close study of this book”, the Evening Standard said “the whole of the political Hitler is in these brutally candid pages”, the Yorkshire Post said; “the book should be extremely valuable in enabling English readers to obtain a general conception of Hilter’s theories” ‘.

   So, no praise but certainly no ignorance either.

2. Peter says:
   December 19th, 2004 at 9:36 am

   Ta - most interesting!