False claim: coin proves ‘Nazi-Zionist Collaboration’

In 1934, the Nazi regime minted a unique series of coins, each featuring a swastika on one side and the Star of David on the other. Far from suggesting any form of collaboration between the Nazis and Zionists, the inception of these coins was rooted in a manipulative narrative spun by Joseph Goebbels, the Nazi Party’s chief propagandist. This narrative exploited the unlikely friendship between a Jewish man and a Nazi, presenting it as a twisted solution to the so-called “Jewish question.”

The backdrop to this story unfolds in the early 1930s, a period when the Nazis openly declared their intent to purge Germany of its Jewish population. It was during this time that the Zionist Federation of Germany, seizing upon the prevalent antisemitic sentiment, sought to promote Jewish emigration to British-controlled Palestine, envisioning it as a sanctuary that could reignite connections to their ancestral homeland.

In a pivotal move in 1933, Dr. Kurt Tuchler, a judge and member of the Zionist Federation, reached out to Leopold von Mildenstein, head of the Jewish Affairs Department at the SS Security Service, known for his travel writing. Tuchler hoped that Mildenstein would view the Zionist project favorably. Mildenstein’s trip to Palestine not only fulfilled these hopes but also provided Goebbels with the perfect propaganda tool. By publicizing Mildenstein’s positive impressions of Palestine in the propagandist newspaper ‘Der Angriff’ and through the issuance of the commemorative coins, Goebbels aimed to promote Zionism as a vehicle for encouraging Jewish emigration from Germany.

These efforts, encapsulated in the series of articles titled “A Nazi Travels to Palestine” and the symbolic issuance of the coins, were not indicative of Nazi support for Zionist aspirations. Instead, they revealed a cynical exploitation of the complex relationship between a Jewish individual and a Nazi officer. The Nazis had no genuine interest in the Zionist vision for a Jewish homeland; their actions were purely manipulative, aiming to further their heinous goal of creating a Germany devoid of Jews.