The Great War and the Fate of the Jews

The Great War and the Fate of the Jews.

“The Russian state openly confesses that it is fighting a war against its Jews. The maxim is: one third will be killed, one third will be starved to death and one third will be driven out.”

This quote from “The Great War and the Fate of the Jews” available for the first time in English, describes the situation that made Jewish soldiers in the Austro-Hungarian and German alliance in WWI fight even more passionately for their homelands.

Writing in 1915, the author refined his knowledge of the Jewish situation in Russia, into a personal, intense critique of the Triple Alliance. Fierce and defiant, the book does not flinch from detailing the terror that clearly shows why the foundation of an independent Jewish state became so urgent to the Jews of Eastern Europe. The compelling narrative, sprinkled with doses of Jewish humour, delivers a broadside against the unscrupulous shifting of moral principles, which sadly still rings true today. We are forced to rethink our attitudes towards this most crucial of wars for the Jews.

The author directed his questioning puzzlement of a French-British-Russian alliance, principally towards the United States of America. Dissecting the reasons for the war, he predicted that the Jews would suffer from a Russian victory more than anyone else; he could not foresee the horrific aftermath of their defeat.

There is also an uncomfortable, fascinating question in this book, a question which modern historians have taken up: Did the British and French precipitate the conflagration which might otherwise have been a conflict contained in the east of Europe? Did their intervention directly lay the groundwork for Adolf Hitler to rise to power?

“. . . England’s declaration of war struck us like the blow from a cudgel . . . never in my life will I forget this day, it was for me and my friends one of the worst in these appalling months.”