Nazi Propaganda for the Arab World (30 page)

But the propaganda offensive continued with radio broadcasts from Germany and Italy and leaflets distributed by intelligence units in the armed forces and from diplomatic posts in Tunisia and Morocco. Between January i and February 18, in Tunis and Tangier alone, German intelligence agents and diplomats distributed approximately 400,000 Arabic-language leaflets and pamphlets.' Among these was "Facts;" 25,000 copies of which were divided equally between Tunis and Tangier. The pamphlet warned that the fate of Arabs in Palestine could be a harbinger of things to come in North Africa.

The North Africans know that a large number of the Jews who live in Tunisia, Algeria, and Morocco have acquired foreign citizenship, and they know the effects of this on the Arab-Jewish relationship.... [T]he North Africans understand that the Jews living in Tunisia, Algeria, and Morocco do not cultivate land, do not repair the roads, do not build houses, and pursue Jewish vocations. They specialize in deception and grabbing money. So what will be the fate of North Africa if this situation continues? Will the Jews become the friends of the kings while the Arabs become servants? Something like this already happened in Palestine.... Will the children of the Jews go to school while the children of the Arabs are removed [so they can] polish shoes and pick up cigarette butts? Something resembling this happened in Palestine. Will Muslim girls become servants in the houses of Jews? That really happened in Palestine under the auspices of the English.3

"Who Are the Arabs' Real Allies?" (5,000 copies distributed in Tunis, 4,000 in Tangier) asserted that the English and the Americans were "attacking Islam in Tunisia, Algeria, and Morocco by means of their missionaries. Have you seen the Germans do something like this?" The English had interfered in the affairs of Egypt, Syria, Palestine, and Iraq and opposed nationalist movements and killed their leaders. "Have you heard of the Germans trying something like this? And you've heard that the English and the Americans think about establishing an ethnic nation for the Jews in North Africa on the model of Palestine. Could you imagine the Germans doing something like this?" The English and Americans defended "the old system of colonialism," but the Germans and their allies "call for a new system, a system of cooperation. So then who are the true allies of the Arabs?"4 Some cartoons and texts distributed by the Axis attacked American politicians who supported the establishment of a Jewish state in Palestine, and others called on Arabs to engage in sabotage or to awaken from a political slumber.5

Yet in Berlin, at a meeting on March 16, officials in Ribbentrop's office acknowledged that German propaganda in North Africa was "running into difficulties because leading Arab circles are hostile only to Britain. Yet as in the past they still trust the Americans. Therefore, we should again stress the necessity of using all relevant materials about Zionism. In particular, we should point to the Jews' desire to establish boundaries [in Palestine] rooted in the Old Testament, that is, [boundaries that extend] to the Euphrates River. This material can be used to gradually shatter the Arabs' confidence in the Americans' promises."6 Anti-Zionism and anti-Semitism were used to fan hostility to the United States. During the fighting in Tunisia in spring 1943, Rudolf Rahn, the head of the German Consulate in Tunis, called for appeals to Arabs and Muslims with antiJewish, anti-capitalist, and anti-Bolshevik motifs. Arabs and Muslims should be assured that Muslims would gain equality under German influence and that Jews would be "made to do forced labor" and their property would be distributed to Muslims.'

As the American presence in the Middle East expanded in summer and fall 1942, officials at the Office of War Information (OWI) in Washington continued to assess how best to respond to Axis propaganda. A "Summary of the Subversive Situation in Middle East: Analysis of Muftist Propaganda in Egypt" written by the OWI Overseas Branch officials in Cairo was sent to military intelligence officials in Washington on January 28,1943. The OWI officials in Cairo argued that to gain support for the Allied cause in Egypt, the United Nations needed to convince listeners and readers that it would "ultimately be victorious, as a result of the preponderance of our men and resources over those of the Axis."8 With a blend of confidence and cultural condescension, OWI offi cials in a report of October 15 had written that "Egyptians, like all Moslem peoples, will be impressed above all else by military might." America's "vast potentialities" should be underscored and the enemy's strength should be minimized. "Tales of Axis atrocities will carry no weight." As "Egyptians admire wealth," news items should feature American affluence. The place of Egypt as a "center of cultural guidance" in the Muslim world should be acknowledged. As nationalism was important, the Allies should stress that their postwar policy would rest on the "four freedoms" articulated by Roosevelt. As the Egyptian upper classes were "more influenced by Western civilization than any other similar group in the Middle East," they would "demand a sophisticated attitude in our broadcasts and publications." Axis propaganda in Egypt found "fertile ground" among its Italian population, German women married to Egyptian men, and advocates of Vichy France. Among the Egyptians, it received a positive reception from Ali Maher Pasha and his supporters; the rector of Al Azhar, El Maraghi, who was close to the king; and the Muslim Brotherhood, the Young Egypt Party led by Ahmed Hussein and the Young Men's Muslim Association. "All of these organizations are to some extent used as organs of subversive propaganda." In the present circumstances some were "a serious threat to our interests.... In the face of an Allied reverse they would immediately become centers of dangerous disaffection."9

An OWI "Basic Directive" of January 30, 1943, stressed the importance of putting the United States in a sympathetic light and convincing the Egyptians "of our respect and understanding of their problems and attitudes." The Egyptians should be informed about the physical size and wealth of resources in the United States, and its accomplishments in irrigation and reclamation projects involving hydraulic engineering as well as in transportation and communication. Egypt's pioneering accomplishments in those realms should be acknowledged. American broadcasts should stress the melting-pot nature of the United States. Although the United States had not always lived up to its ideals, it aspired to be tolerant of all races and creeds. American material should "show familiarity with Egyptian and Arab-Moslem prejudices and predilections" but "must not cater to them." The Basic Directive was emphatic about the need to "avoid all discussion, for the present, of those fundamental political problems which have so inflamed the Middle East in recent years. Specifically these are three: Zionism, Pan-Arabism, and Pan-Islamism. Never take sides in these matters, but preserve absolute detachment as tacit evidence that we favor a policy of `Egypt for the Egyptians.."'1° The directive said nothing about reports about the mass murders of Europe's Jews or about the torrent of anti-Semitic incitement coming from Nazi radio and print propaganda." Some American officials did express gratitude for the depth of insight into Nazi policy and propaganda offered by Kirk's dispatches.12 Ironically, the more pessimistic American officials became about pro-Axis sentiment among Arabs and Muslims, the less willing they were to directly challenge Nazism's anti-Semitic interpretation of the course of events.

Propaganda from Berlin continued unabated. On the occasion of the opening of the Islamic Institute in Berlin, Husseini sent a telegram to Hitler to express his thanks for his support. On Janauary 2,1943, Berlin in Arabic's feature on the "Berlin Islamic Institute" broadcast Hitler's reply: "To the Great Leader, the Grand Mufti of Palestine, I present to you my thanks for your kind telegram and I wish you complete success for you in your participation in the tasks of the future. 1113 On January 11, VFA's comment on "The Jews" falsely reported that in gratitude for the American landings in North Africa, the Jews had given General Dwight Eisenhower the title of `The Glittering Sword of Israel." It sarcastically sent Eisenhower its congratulations. Echoing the blend of appeal to nationalism and to Islam of the summer and fall broadcasts, it added, "We Arabs all know an American victory would mean a Jewish victory and this in turn would mean an Arab defeat. This is why the Arabs should fight against the Americans and realize that this war is a war for the survival of the Arabs and Is- lam."14 After their military victories, the Allies were able to abolish the antiJewish laws that the Nazis had brought to North Africa. On January 13, Berlin in Arabic reported that Roosevelt ordered Eisenhower "to abolish all anti-Semitic restrictions in North Africa and to give them [the Jews] privileges in this area.... The Jews have contrived to control both Britain and America politically because they are in command of the major economic concerns of these countries." It asserted that this was "the truth of the present situation and anyone who attempts to deny it is a liar!" 15 On January 13, Bari in Arabic repeated now familiar claims and threats: "The Jews provoked this war to loot the world and destroy it but Bolshevism, Judaism and Democracy will be annihilated by the will of God." 16

If Nazi radio had offered news of the military setbacks in North Africa, the American Embassy monitoring operation in Cairo would have recorded it. Nothing of that sort appeared in the Kirk dispatches. On January 16, the Arab Nation cryptically reported that the "situation in North Africa is still confused and the Allies are undecided.... London and Washington both insist on holding their ground.""According to an American Embassy report, there were 450 newspapers in Egypt in 1943, publishing in Arabic, English, and French.' 8 The BBC and the Voice of America were also on the air with Arabic news broadcasts. With a multiplicity of print and radio sources, Egyptians, both the literate and illiterate, had access to reasonably accurate reports about the course of the war. Radio Berlin and the Voice of Free Arabism did not offer that to their listeners. Instead they preached to the converted, reinforced their beliefs, and sought to attract converts through their vehemence, certainty, and ideological clarity. Husseini's talent as a demagogic speaker served him well on the radio, where his ideological pronouncements and denunciations of his enemies did not delve deeply into the details of actual events. Rashid Ali Kilani, on the other hand, offered long, detailed, and tedious recitations of the details of events surrounding the Iraqi coup of 1941. Kilani was a good soldier on the radio, but there was something pathetic about his January 20,1943, statement from Berlin: "I hereby declare ... in the name of the Iraqi people ... Iraq remains in a state of war with the British." The Axis powers, he announced, were "faithful friends" who offered the best chance for the "the Arab Nation" to realize its "freedom, independence and unity."19 He made the statement soon after the actual government of Iraq in Baghdad had declared war on the Axis powers.

German Arabic broadcasts took greater liberties with facts than did the German-language stations. Within Germany, radio and press propaganda on the whole did not assert that Franklin Roosevelt was a Jew. Instead it generally claimed that he was the Jews'tool and stooge. In late 1942, Nazi Arabic radio announced that the president of the United States was indeed Jewish. On January 18,1943, Berlin in Arabic ran another piece about "Roosevelt the Jew." It began with the standard argument that "the American nation" had been pushed into the war by "a certain class," which did not care whether America won or lost. Its intention was simply "to push as many people as they can into it." It claimed that Roosevelt was the head of this class. Some of its members were Jews, while others "had been enticed by Jewish money." Hence the Americans had become "victims of those Jews, or perhaps it is more correct to say that they are the victims of Roosevelt. No wonder that Roosevelt and his friends direct the war according to Jewish intentions and interests since Roosevelt and some of his assistants are of Jewish origins." The broadcast then referred to "some historical facts" that proved Roosevelt's Jewish descent from a Spanish family that emigrated from Spain in 1620. Berlin in Arabic told its listeners that Roosevelt's mother was of "Italian-Jewish origins" with the family name "Ilano, a name which has been modified to Delano." Further, "Roosevelt's wife is also Jewish." Having mentioned these "facts," the station was sure that "no one will have any doubt regarding Roosevelt's origins as being Jewish, or of his feelings towards the Jews, facts which have been proved by Roosevelt's support to the Jews." Now "Jewish America" was trying to win the Arabs' friendship and support in the war. Berlin in Arabic warned its audience, "America is the greatest danger to the Arabs and Arabism since she is a friend of the Jews, and, to use the correct words, a Jewish organization."20

In its domestic German-language propaganda, the Nazi propagandists had described elective affinities between English Puritanism and Judaism.' On January 30, in a broadcast on "Britain and the Jews, the Arab Nation went further: the British monarchs and the Anglo-Saxons were also Jewish. The broadcast claimed that the Times (London) had stated that "the Jews and the AngloSaxons are descended from the same family. That is to say, the British throne is the throne of Israel and the person who sits on it is the descendent of David." Anglo-Saxons were the sons of the biblical Isaac. Abraham had a son from a second wife whose descendants "some people claim" migrated to Europe and England. "Therefore," the broadcast continued, "it can be proved that the sons of Isaac are the inhabitants of Britain and the British throne is the throne of David." Actually, it continued, "the British are in fact the shadows of the Jews and the British tendency to dominate the world is a Jewish one." The broadcast then combined conspiracy theory and logical incoherence in a manner that only a direct quote can capture.

The Jews aim to rule the world in the future. If Britain wades through a sea of blood it is in order that the Jews may rule the world undisputed, for the Jews are not content with Palestine, Syria and Transjordan, nor even with Morocco but desire the whole world. They show great cunning however by not seeking to obtain this domination all at once and that is why they have created the myth that the British are of Jewish origin in order that they may realize their ambitions. America on the other hand would like to inherit the British Empire. But the Americans are Anglo-Saxons and thus they are the sons of Isaac which means of course that they are Jews. Thus the British Empire will inevitably be the Empire of Isaac, in other words a Jewish Empire. Gigantic forces are now fighting against each other, countries disappear, thrones crumble, just because the Jews want to rule the world. A Jewish victory would mean the disintegration of the whole world and the degeneration of humanity and civilization's return to the stone age. May God forbid.22