Halbmond und Hakenkreuz: das Dritte Reich, die Araber und Palästina

Examines relations of the Third Reich with the Arab-Islamic world, especially their ideological affinities. The shared hatred of the "Yishuv" (the Jewish settlement) in Palestine and of the Jewish minority in the British Mandate, the shared perception of common threats, the protection of one's specific cultural identity, and notions of achievement created an increasing convergence leading to a shift in Nazi Germany's foreign policy, which in the late 1930s switched its focus from seeking the acceleration of Jewish emigration to providing direct support for Arab nationalists. Numerous joint German-Arab plots to expel the British from the area also involved the elimination of the Jewish national homeland. The culmination of these plans came with the rapid advance of Rommel's troops in North Africa in the summer of 1942, but Rommel's defeat prevented their implementation. Describes the role of the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, Amin al-Husaini, in promoting German-Arab relations: his relationship with Hitler, his propagation of antisemitism, and his fight against the Jews of Palestine.