166 Chapter 7
RobertGellatelyremindsreadersthatin the speechesthatHitlergaveon the Nazi
Party’s behalfin 1930,the bigotedpoliticianwouldbringup the Jews“in the contextof
beingbehindthe machinationsof capitalism.”
OnelabelthatHitlerappliedto whathe wantederadicatedwas“the Jewish-material-
ist spirit.”^118 In Hitler’s words,the populacemustbe cautionedthat “internationalJewish
financiersin and outsideEurope” couldsoon“plungethe nationsoncemoreinto a world
war...”^119
Kershawdisclosesthatthere“wasno mentionof Bolshevism” in Hitler’s famously
anti-SemiticSeptember 1919 Gemlichletter.In it, “the ‘JewishQuestion’ is related” specif-
icallyto “the rapaciousnatureof financecapital.”^120 ThisdemonstratesHitler’s philoso-
phyto be “anti-capitalistand‘nationalsocialist,’ not leastantisemitic.” Throughand
through,manymembersof the NSDAP—beingmorezealoustruebelieversthanHitler
himself—foundthemselves“weddedto a typeof ‘socialrevolutionary’ emotiveanti-
capitalism.”^121
GeorgeL. Mosseparaphrasesthe credoof the NSDAPduringthe 1920s—“The aboli-
tionof the ‘slaveryof interestcharges’ wouldproducebothsocialjusticeandnational
unity.”^122
Hitleroriginateda phrasethat laterbecamea sloganin the Germanarmy—”The Jew is
not a Germanbut merelya trader.. .”^123 Becauseof the commonalityof this stereotype,
the Nazisincrementallysteppedup theirpersecutionof Jewsthroughoutthe 1930s.This
startedon April1, 1933,whenHitlerbeganthe government-enforcedboycottof Jews.^124
ThatyearNaziofficialJuliusStreicher(1885–1946)orderedthatsignsbe postedthrough-
out Germanyproclaiming,“Whoeverbuysfroma Jew is a traitorto the people.”^125 Nazi
groupsorganizedmajorboycottsagainstJewishbusinesses;theywentas far as crafting
ruleson exactlywhatsort of signsshouldbe hungabovethe entrancesof Jewishstoresin
orderto discouragegentilesfrompatronizingthem.TheSA compiledlistsof Jewish-
ownedbusinessesthattheywouldprohibitgentilesfromfrequenting.^126 On July14 of
thatsameyear,the NSDAP’s policyof compulsorysterilizationof the diseasedand men-
tallyill began.The situationfor Jewish-ownedenterprisesworsenedin the winterof 1937.
Mossestatesthatit wasthenthatthe domesticembargoagainstJewishbusinesses“hit
everyaspect,frombankingto retailstores.. .” The followingyear“Jewishbankaccounts
and investmentswereconfiscated.”^127
Despitehis ownbiastowardthe left-winginterpretationof Germany’s history,Wayne
Biddlestill writesof howthe “firstboycottof Jewishstoresoccurredon March28,” 1933,
“affectingthousandsof shopsnationwideand bringingwholesectionsof manytownsto
a standstill.”^128 Likewise,whenthe NazisinvadedCzechoslovakia,theymadecertainto
confiscatefactoriesin thatnationownedby Jews,suchas thoseownedby the prominent
Low-Beerfamily.^129 The historianGötz Aly (b. 1947)arguesthat the Nazis’ confiscationof
Jewishassetsaccountsfor muchof the financingof the Nazis’ welfarestate.^130 Priorto
Aly advancingthis argument,a numberof writershadmischaracterizedthe Nazis’ con-
trolledeconomyas a highlyefficientandself-sustainingone.Alybringsto lightthe
mannerin whichthe Nazigovernment’s methodof fundingran on borrowedtime.
Throughoutthe war,the Nazisdid not producenewwealthbut fed parasiticallyon the
wealththat Jewshad alreadyproduced.Andthat wealthwas runningout.
TheseJew-as-covetous-merchantstereotypesweredefinitelynot unique—Hitlersim-
ply playedup prejudicialnotionsaboutJewsthat havebeencommonthroughouthistory.
AnarchistsocialistPierre-JosephProudhonhissesthatanyJewis “by temperamentan
anti-producer.He is an intermediary,alwaysfraudulentandparasitic,whooperatesin
tradeas in philosophy,by meansof falsification,counterfeiting,andhorse-trading.”^131
Proudhonwentas far as proclaimingthatif the Jewscouldnot be banishedfromFrance,