The Haavara Agreement (הסכם העברה Translated: “transfer agreement”) was an agreement between Nazi Germany and Zionist German Jews signed on 25 August 1933. The agreement was finalized after three months of talks by the Zionist Federation of Germany, the Anglo-Palestine Bank (under the directive of the Jewish Agency) and the economic authorities of Nazi Germany. It was a major factor in making possible the migration of approximately 60,000 German Jews to Palestine in 1933–1939.

The agreement enabled Jews fleeing persecution under the new Nazi regime to transfer some portion of their assets to British Mandatory Palestine. Emigrants sold their assets in Germany to pay for essential goods (manufactured in Germany) to be shipped to Mandatory Palestine. The agreement was controversial at the time, and was criticised by many Jewish leaders both within the Zionist movement (such as the Revisionist Zionist leader Ze’ev Jabotinsky) and outside it, as well as by members of the NSDAP and members of the German public. For German Jews, the agreement offered a way to leave an increasingly hostile environment in Germany; for the Yishuv, the new Jewish community in Palestine, it offered access to both immigrant labor and economic support; for the Germans it facilitated the emigration of German Jews while breaking the anti-Nazi boycott of 1933, which had mass support among European Jews and was thought by the German state to be a potential threat to the German economy.

Werner Otto von Hentig (22 May 1886, Berlin, Germany – 8 August 1984, Lindesnes, Norway) was a German Army Officer, adventurer and diplomat from Berlin. Though critical of the Nazi regime, he served in the Third Reich and intervened at personal risk to save Jews who were in danger, and was instrumental in arranging for thousands of Jews to be transferred from Germany to Palestine during the 1930s.

Ken Livingstone had documents as his sources, not opinions or historical interpretation alone. Those who use libraries and books are free to read the sources. One example is:

Brenner, Lenni. 51 Documents: Zionist Collaboration with the Nazis. Fort Lee, NJ: Barricade Books, 2002. 9781569802359

INTRODUCTION ix

PART I * Zionism and anti-Semitism Before Hitler 1
Theodor Herzl, “Conclusion” 3
Vladimir Jabotinsky, “A Letter on Autonomy” 7
Chaim Weizmann, “To Ahad Ha’am, Dec. 14-15, 1914” 21
Winston Churchill, “Zionism Versus Bolshevism. A Struggle for the Soul of the Jewish People.” 23
Albert Einstein, “Assimilation and Nationalism” 29
Vladimir Jabotinsky, “The Iron Wall (We and the Arabs)” 32

PART II * The World Zionist Organization and Nazism Before
the Holocaust 39
1. Harry Sacher, “Review of Dr. Gustav Krojanker, Zum Problem Des Neuen Deutschen Nationalismus” 40
2. “Palestine Drive to Continue” 41
3. “The Zionist Federation of Germany Addresses the New German State” 42
4. “Agreement for Transferring Property from Germany to Palestine: Details of the Three Million Mark Agreement” 47
5. “B’nai B’rith and the German-Jewish Tragedy” 50
6. Moshe Beilinson, “The New Jewish Statesmanship” 53

7. Chaim Nachman Bialik, “The Present Hour” 64
8. Raphael Powell, “Should Jews Join Anti-Fascist Societies?” 69
9. Boris Smolar, “Between the Lines” 72
10. Dr. Gustav Krojanker, The Transfer: A Vital Question of the Zionist Movement 74
11. “Debating the Issues of the Transfer: Is the Agreement Between the Zionists and Germany Justified?” 89
12. “German Zionists Seek Recognition” 95
13. “Baal Is Not God” 96
14. Dr. Joachim Prinz, “Zionism Under the Nazi Government” 98
15. Dr. Joachim Prinz and Lenni Brenner, Excerpts from an Interview 103
16. Franz-Albert Six, Report on Secret Commando Matter 111
17. Report on the Palestine-Egyptian Journey of SS-Hptscharf Eichmann and SS-O’Scharf Hagen 116
18. Hayim Greenberg, “The Myth of Jewish Parasitism” 121

PART III – Zionist Revisionism, Fascism and Nazism Before the Holocaust 129
19. Leopold von Mildenstein, “A Nazi Voyages to Palestine” 130
20. “Stavsky Appeal Allowed: Unanimous Judgement Quashes Conviction: Lack of Corroborative Evidence” 135
21. Vladimir Jabotinsky, “Letter to Colonial Secretary Sir Philip Cunliffe-Lister (7/24/33)” 146
22. “Trace 1933 Murder Weapon to Stern Group Death Squad” 149
23. Vladimir Jabotinsky, “Jews and Fascism: Some Remarks- and a Warning” 151
24. “Georg Kareski Approves of Ghetto Laws: Interview in Dr. Goebbels’ Angriff”‘ 155

25. “Kareski Again” 157
26. “Nazi Opinion of Zionism” 158
27. “Dr. von Weisl Believes in Fascism” 159
28. Vladimir Jabotinsky, “Letter to Plugat Betarim Civittavechia” 160
29. “Supplement to L’dea Sionistica, Number 8, Dedicated to the Betar Hebrew Maritime School in Civitavecchia” 162
30. “Opening of the Third Congress of the Jewish Communities 171
of the Far East”
31. “New Palestine Party: Visit of Menachem Begin and Aims of Political Movement Discussed” 184
32. Abba Achimeir, “Diary of a Fascist” 187

PART IV * The World Zionist Organization and Nazism During the Holocaust 193
33. Stephen S. Wise, “Letter to President Franklin D. Roosevelt” 194
34. Department of State Memorandum of Conversation, May 19, 1944 196
35. Yitzhak Gruenbaum, “About the Holocaust and About the Reaction” 201
36. “Rabbi Michoel Ber Weissmandel’s Personal Story: Part III” 215
37. Julian Kossoff, “Full Version of Perdition to be Published” 221
38. Dr. Rezs6 Kasztner, The Report of the Budapest Jewish Rescue Committee-1942-1945 223
39. Roswell D. McClelland, Letter to Dr. Kasztner, February 6, 1946 259
40. Roswell D. McClelland, Letter to Dr. Kasztner, July 18, 1946 262
41. “‘I Transported Them to the Butcher,’ Eichmann’s Own Story: Part I” 264

42. “‘To Sum It All Up, I Regret Nothing,’ Eichmann’s Own Story: Part II” 280
43. Maurice Carr, “The Belated Awakening: Dr. Goldmann Accuses World Jewry of Moral Bankruptcy in Nazi Era” 295

PART V – The Stern Gang and the Nazis 299
44. Fundamental Features of the Proposal of the National Military Organization in Palestine [Irgun Zvai Leumi] Concerning the Solution of the Jewish Question in Europe and the Participation of the NMO in the War on the Side of Germany 300
45. Werner Otto von Hentig, My Life in the Diplomatic Service 304
46. Nathan Yellin-Mor, Israel, Israel 306
47. “Israeli Stamp Honors Stern Gang Founder” 310
48. Christopher Walker, “Holocaust Relived: Shamir Defends Terrorist” 312
49. Lenni Brenner, “Mr. Shamir and Lehi (Letters)” 314
50. Gerold Frank, The Deed 316
51. Yitzhak Shamir, “Freedom Fighters” 320

CONCLUSION: A Final Word on the Final Solution 324
GLOSSARY 327
INDEX 336

Black, Edwin. The Transfer Agreement: The Dramatic Story of the Pact between the Third Reich and Jewish Palestine. Washington, D.C.: Dialog Press, 2009.  9780914153139 (updating 2001 and 1984 editions)

The Transfer Agreement: The Dramatic Story of the Pact Between the Third Reich and Jewish Palestine is a book written by author Edwin Black, documenting the transfer agreement (“Haavara Agreement”) between Zionist organizations and Nazi Germany to transfer a number of Jews and their assets to Palestine. Shortly after Samuel Untermeyer’s return to the U.S. from Germany in 1933, articles appeared on the front page of newspapers in London and New York declaring that “Judea declares war on Germany” This resulted in an effective boycott of German goods in many countries, affecting German exports significantly. The agreement was partly inspired by this boycott which appeared to threaten the Reich. Controversial as it may be seen in hindsight, it marked one of the few rescues of Jews and their assets in the years leading up to the Holocaust.

After war erupted on September 29, 1939, the dispossession of the Jews turned to annihilation. The Transfer Agreement served as a lifeline to the Jews who still could be saved. All debate about Haavara among Jewish groups ceased. The less said the better, lest the Nazis cancel the deal. Ultimately, the war did force an end to Transfer, but not before some 55,000 Jews were able to find a haven in Palestine.   Those who would condemn the Zionist decision to enter into a pact with Hitler have the luxury of hindsight. In 1933, the Zionists could not have foreseen the death trains, gas chambers, and crematoria. But they did understand that the end was now at hand for Jews in Europe. Nazism was unstoppable. The emphasis now became saving Jewish lives and establishing a Jewish State.   From the Zionist point of view, the boycott did succeed. Without it, there would never have been a Transfer Agreement, which contributed immeasurably to a strengthened Jewish community in Palestine and the creation of the State of Israel. And Transfer would never have happened had American Jews not mobilized as quickly as they did, only days after Hitler rose to power.