The war in Europe that has come to be known as the Second World War had the greatest devastating effect in the world. It led to the death of millions of people across the world. The Nazi regime in Germany during the time was at the center of this war. The interests of this regime which conflicted the interest of most other European countries were the beginning point of the war in Europe. The Nazi regime utilized different strategies during this war depending on the regions they invaded. In invading Poland, the Nazi regime largely utilized the Jewish council of elders (Loth, 1996). This paper examines how the Jewish council of elders in ghettos within occupied Europe and Poland in particular facilitated the inversion of Germany within these regions and countries.
The desire to occupy Poland was the major driving force for Germany into the war against Europe. Adolf Hitler who was then leading the Nazi regime had made up his mind of occupying Poland by 1939 (Evans, 2009). Although he knew that Poland would receive the support and backing and support both from British as well as the French military, he was determined to continue with his mission. As mitigation, the Nazi regime went into a non-aggressive agreement with the Soviet, which required the two to divide Poland and occupy different sections of the country. Therefore, the intention to occupy Poland was one of the major driving forces in Germany’s plan for the war in Europe.
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
The Jewish counsel also known as the council of elders was the major target through which the Nazi regime sought to invade Poland. The Jewish communities had formed a council of elders through which they executed self-rule and determination since the medieval era (Loth, 1996). As such the council of elders in Jewish communities was a well-established model of governance that had widely gained acceptance within the Jewish communities. Moreover, the members of the council of elders had great power and influence on the Jewish people. As such, the Nazi regime considered gaining influence in this council of elders that would consequently enable them to influence the leadership and governance of the Jewish communities in Poland (Marcuse, 2007). Since the Jewish occupied ghettos of Poland were greatly governed by the Jewish council of elders, gaining control over this counsel was envisioned as a way of intruding the governance of the Poland ghettos, and other Jewish-occupied territories.
The major reason why this strategy was successful and why the council of elders facilitated this inversion was the fact that they used very influential leaders within the Jewish council. For instance, the council of elders mainly consisted of the rabbis who were teachers of the Jewish laws as well as other respected figures within the Jewish culture (Patterson, 2018). This influence and power provided a clear platform over which the Nazi regime of Germany would extend their rule to central and western Poland where they did not have direct control and rule during the period of the Second World War. Moreover, this power and influence were critical for Germany to advance its anti-Jewish policies and laws within Poland.
Secondly, the structure of governance that the Nazi regime adopted during this intrusion to Poland greatly facilitated this intrusion. The Nazi regime in Germany sought to collaborate with the Jewish council of elders. Enforcing direct rule and intrusion would have faced great resistance not only from the Jews within the ghettos of Poland but also from other European countries that were largely against the intentions of Nazi Germany during the second world war (Marcuse, 2007). Since Germany did not have an internal influence and control within Poland, the best option for the intrusion was to partner with the established system of governance in Poland. A high ranking official in the Nazi Government known as Reinhard Heydrich facilitated the establishment of the Jewish council of elders in Poland in 1939 and the appointment of highly respectable members of the Jewish communities to the council. By collaborating with this counsel, the Nazi regime was able to advance its regime and policies to regions of western and central Poland.
Moreover, the election of the council gave a false impression to the Jews that it was democratic. As such, the decisions of the council had the support and the endowment of the Jews who purported to have elected the council. The composition of this council was such that it consisted of twelve members for communities with a population of fewer than 10,000 people. Jewish communities with larger populations above 10,000 people formed the counsel of 24 members (Marcuse, 2007). The election of this counsel was stage-managed to give the impression that the Jews democratically elected the people who ascended to such positions. However, the reality of the practice was quite different. The elections were manipulated, and the people who ultimately accented to the counsel were handpicked by the leadership of the Nazi regime (Patterson, 2018). As such, it was easy for the Nazi regime to push through anti-Jewish policies that they had hoped to achieve an equally foster the notion that Germany was the super race.
Moreover, this approach was noncombative and hence evaded the notice of the combative strategies employed by Poland during the second world war. For instance, Poland signed a mutual assistance agreement with Great Britain in August 1939 just before Adolf Hitler could order his troops to invade its territories (Evans, 2009). The support became a great challenge for German and its quest for invasion. The support was instrumental in empowering Poland with military capabilities of wading off the Germans. Great Britain provided weapons, which helped Poland in defending itself against the intrusion by the dictatorial Nazi regime (Patterson, 2018). As such the collaboration of the Nazi regime with the Jewish council of elders was a non-combative strategy that could not be counteracted through the combative strategies put in place by Poland at the onset of the Second World war.
Lastly, the use of threats among the few members in the council of elders forced them to comply with the directives from the Nazi regime. As already noted, the members of the council were well respectable Jewish leaders who were installed with the sole mandate advancing the interest of Germany’s Nazi regime. This regime used the threat of confining the council leaders who ignored or opposed their directives into concentration camps (Patterson, 2018). Such camps were used as detention camps for the Jews in Germany and those who opposed Germany’s intention to take over the Anglo Europe and hence advance the superiority of the Germany race. Such threats forced the council of elders among the Jewish communities to submit to the directions of the Nazi regime and hence foster and execute the anti-Jewish policies that the Nazi regime wanted to.
In summary, the desire to occupy Poland was the major driving force for Germany during the second world war. The collaboration between the Jewish council of elders and the Nazi regime was an appropriate strategy that facilitated spreading the impact of the Nazi regime within Poland. Among other things, this approach was disguised with the local structures of governance among the Jewish communities in the ghettos of Poland and hence received the support of the Jews. While Germany did not succeed in the war, this approach made it possible for them to make significant intrusion into Poland.
References
Evans, R. J. (2009, September 08). Why Hitler's Grand Plan during the Second World War collapsed. Retrieved March 2, 2019, from https://www.theguardian.com/world/2009/sep/08/hitler-germany-campaign-collapsed
Loth, W. (1996). Stalin’s Plans for Post-War Germany. The Soviet Union and Europe in the Cold War, 1943–53, 23-36.
Marcuse, H. (2007). Nazi Plans for Dominating Germany and Europe: The Nazi Master Plan. Secret Reports on Nazi Germany, 12 (8), 432-447.
Patterson, D. (2018). The Renaissance of Jewish Learning in Post-World War II Europe. Jewish Centers & Peripheries, 4 (8), 323-334.
