World

After Netanyahu comments, Germany says responsibility for Holocaust is ours

Israel's prime minister sparked controversy by saying 'Muslim elder had convinced Adolf Hitler to exterminate Jews'

Reuters October 21, 2015

PHOTO: REUTERS

BERLIN: The German government said on Wednesday that responsibility for the Holocaust lay with the Germans, after Israel's prime minister sparked controversy before a visit to Berlin by saying a Muslim elder had convinced Adolf Hitler to exterminate Jews.

Palestinian leader convinced Hitler to exterminate Jews: Israeli PM

"All Germans know the history of the murderous race mania of the Nazis that led to the break with civilisation that was the Holocaust," Chancellor Angela Merkel's spokesman Steffen Seibert said when asked about Benjamin Netanyahu's remarks.

Israel, IS and the futility of evil

"This is taught in German schools for good reason, it must never be forgotten. And I see no reason to change our view of history in any way. We know that responsibility for this crime against humanity is German and very much our own."

Hours before leaving for Berlin, Netanyahu referred in a speech to a series of attacks by Muslims against Jews in Palestine during the 1920s that he said were instigated by the then Mufti of Jerusalem, Haj Amin al-Husseini.

Holocaust museum unveils tool to predict countries most likely to kill their own people

"Hitler didn't want to exterminate the Jews at the time, he wanted to expel the Jews," Netanyahu said in the speech. "And Haj Amin al-Husseini went to Hitler and said, 'If you expel them, they'll all come here.'

COMMENTS (16)

syed & syed | 8 years ago | Reply Jibran is ignorant about the history. Industry, banks and stocks were controlled by Jews and were against the objectives of Hitler.. They were hatching conspiracies against him. Hitler had no option but to dislodge them. 9 million Jews were killed is not true. Those Germans who were killed by Allies bombardment and on front lines were also burnt instead of digging graves. Netanyahu and his predecessors followed Hitlerism. Was Mufti Hussainy a fool to suggest Hitler to expel Jews knowing that they will settle in Palestine.

pappu | 9 years ago | Reply @ajeet: who are they?

VIEW MORE COMMENTS

ajeet | 9 years ago | Reply @Timorlane: And Timor would have been your conqueror, so its funny that you have his name. You can rename yourself to Indira Gamdhi or Sam Manekshaw as they are more recent conquerors.

Babar | 9 years ago | Reply @Jibran: You need to read more history, especially on what is called the 'Golden age of Islam' a.k.a. 'Dark age' in Europe. Muslim hate for Jews can be directly connected to Israel's repression of Palestinians, and is completely a new phenomenon.

ajeet | 9 years ago | Reply @Timorlane: Muslims did worse to the parsis,Buddhists and Hindus in areas stretching from Iran to India. It was the biggest genocide in the history of mankind.

Diamond | 9 years ago | Reply And he remembers it now? what was he doing uptil now? Why didn't he say that before? Some people are so hate filled for others. Pathetic souls!

Mian | 9 years ago | Reply Clearly Netanyahu has lost his marbles.

MSH | 9 years ago | Reply This is news to me.So the world must correct their history books in the light of Mr Netanyahu revelation.

stephen | 9 years ago | Reply Germans are now bracing up for Islamocaust, they have already started attacking muslims, court deny rights to muslims and racism is high is streets and Schools. just Google PEGIDA

Timorlane | 9 years ago | Reply @Jibran: What about the 25 million Red Indians and around 10 million Africans who were killed, tortured and enslaved in North America by Christian European settlers? Were they advised by a Muslim mullah too? And what about the million Vietnamese killed by Americans in Vietnam??

Sarwar | 9 years ago | Reply @Jibran: You seem to be too eager at mullah-bashing without knowing the history of antisemitism in Germany. It was indeed the antisemitic tradition of Germany, dating back to Martin Luther and even further back that influenced Hitler. Most virulent antisemitic advocacy comes from Martin Luther. "1. He also seems to advocate their murder, writing "[w]e are at fault in not slaying them".[19] Luther, Martin. On the Jews and Their Lies, cited in Michael, Robert. "Luther, Luther Scholars, and the Jews,"Encounter 46 (Autumn 1985) No. 4:343–344. '

Sarwar | 9 years ago | Reply Netanyahu is trying to the shift the blame from the Germans to the Muslims to make his case strong of denying the Palestinians a separate state. History records an antisemitic tradition in Germany going back to Martin Luther.

kahnakacha | 9 years ago | Reply @Jibran: I guess Germany officially cleared that for you. So that you don't face a surprise. You are mixing Jews with Zionism. Do some research on "Jews against Zionism". Muslim hated towards Zionism (Both Jewish and Christian Zionists) is true, but relatively new. Jews lived well in Ottoman Empire and Muslim Spain. Muslim rulers of North Africa took-in tens of thousands of Jews, when they were expelled by Spaniards.They lived there in peace till mid 20th century. Middle Eastern Jews, including ones living in Palestine spoke Arabic and Persian (ones in Iran). Iran still has a sizeable patriotic Jewish community, who are proud of their Persian language and culture, but practice Judaism as their religion. Hostilities started with Zionist movement and when European Jews started migrating in Palestine, and carved out state of Israel.

Rollin & Trollin | 9 years ago | Reply This gives an insight into the racist mentality of the Zionists. Instead of laying the blame of the Holocaust on the white Germans, they would rather twist facts around and now have the finger pointed at Muslims ! Incredible as this seems, they are not:newcomers to twisting words and facts,; a case in point, the Torah.

Jibran | 9 years ago | Reply The hatred of the Jewish people is skin deep among Muslims. I won't be surprised if a maniac mullah was calling for their genocide about a century ago.

Khan | 9 years ago | Reply The Zionists are the Nazis of today. Hitler had the right idea

Replying to X