Grand Mufti of Jerusalem

One was one of the most prominent Arab leaders in Palestine and the Middle East. Some believe that Husseini's collaboration with the Germans was designed to obtain support for Arab national goals from a power that seemed to have good prospects for winning the war.

Others link his sympathy for Nazi Germany to his enthusiasim for its anti-Jewish policies, particularly, the Final Solution. Some even perceive a general ideological affinity between totalitarian Fascist and Nazi theories and Islam, as conceived by Husseini.

Husseini's contribution to the Nazis war effort was more successful in his capacity as a Moslem leader. He recruited and organized Bosnian Muslim battalions in 1943, known as the Handjar (Sword), who were put into the Waffen-SS. They fought partisans in Bosnia, participated in the massacre of civilians there, and carried out police and security duties in Hungary. Husseini also helped boost the fighting morale of the Ostbattaillone. Husseini's Support of the Final Solution. Husseini's men attended SS training courses and visited Sachsenhausen.

At an early stage the mufti was aware of the extermination of the Jews and he tried to persuade the Axis to extend the extermination to North Africa and Palestine. He also repeatedly proprosed the Luftwaffe bomb Tel Aviv. When he found out that efforts were underway to save Jews by means of various barter arrangements, he did all he could to foil them.

Pre - War Contacts with the Nazis

After he had broken with Britain, Husseini sent two emissaries to Berlin to make concrete proposals for collaboration. This occurred in December 1937 and in May 1939. As a result, Wilhelm Canaris, chief of the Abwehr supported the Arab uprising in Palestine.

Husseini's Fate is Linked with the Fascist Powers

When World War II broke out, Husseini fled to Iraq, where he contributed to the planning of the pro-Nazi revolt. When the revolt was quelled, he went into exile, first in Italy and then in Germany. From October 1941, Husseini linked his fate with the fascist powers. He also was in touch with the Japanese. He sought to pursue Arab national political goals and lend his support to the Final Solution. For the former he set three main goals: the issuance of a joint German-Italian declaration recognizing the independence of the Arab nations and their unity in federation; the establishment of a center for Arab sabotage and propaganda, under his control; and the formation of an Arab army to fight on the Axis side. The German foreign minister, Joachim von Ribbentrop did not make the declaration Husseini wanted, but in a private letter said much of what Husseini wanted to hear regarding Arabs states under British auspices. Neither did the mufti create the center he had in mind, but he did link himself with Axis intelligence. To demonstrate their support for the idea, the Germans dropped two Arab parachutists over Jericho and five over Mosul, Iraq. Husseini's plan to form an Arab legion failed to gain much response. As of 1942, a small German-Arab training section was created, with 130 men. In November 1944, the Arab legion was set up, but it existed mostly on paper.

A Moslem Leader in the Service of the Nazis

Husseini's contribution to the Axis war effort was more successful in his capacity as a Moslem leader. He recruited and organized Bosnian Muslim battalions in 1943, known as the Handjar (Sword), who were put into the Waffen-SS. They fought partisans in Bosnia, participated in the massacre of civilians there, and carried out police and security duties in Hungary. Husseini also helped boost the fighting morale of the Ostbattaillone.

Husseini's Support of the Final Solution

Husseini's men attended SS training courses and visited Sachsenhausen. At an early stage the mufti was aware of the extermination of the Jews and he tried to persuade the Axis to extend the extermination to North Africa and Palestine. He also repeatedly proprosed the Luftwaffe bomb Tel Aviv. When he found out that efforts were underway to save Jews by means of various barter arrangements, he did all he could to foil them.

After the War - Evading Prosecution

When the war ended, Husseini was arrested in France, but in June 1946, he escaped and made his way to asylum in Egypt. Although there was ample proof to arrest him as a war criminal after the war, the Allies made no effort to do so. They were deterred by Husseini's prestige in the Arab world. In 1946, Yugoslavia, asked for his extradition, but the Arab League and the Egyptian government succeeded in having the demand tabled.

Source (both Pictures and Text):
"Encyclopedia of the Holocaust", © 1990 Macmillan Publishing Company, New York, NY 10022
Museum of Tolerance, Multimedia Learning Center: http://motlc.wiesenthal.com/pages/t031/t03148.html

Bosnian Moslems recruited by the Grand Mufti Hajj Amin al Husseini (Arafat's 'Uncle'¹) to serve in the ranks of the German Waffen-SS.

The following pictures take place in Bosnia, two years after the Grand Mufti Hajj Amin al Husseini (blood relative of both the current Temple Mount Mufti and Yasser Arafat) launched an unsuccessful pro-Nazi coup in Iraq. In that coup, an Iranian - Khayrallah Tulfah - was jailed for four years for his pro-Nazi activities. He wrote a booklet called "Three Whom God Should Not Have Created: Iranians, Jews, and Flies.", which was later distributed by the Ministry of Education of Iraq. In 1947, Khayrallah Tulfah gave a home to his sister's ten year old son, an orphan. His name was Saddam Hussein.

In the 1990's. the Christian Serbs later sought retribution for what they claimed were "massive war crimes" by the Islamic Bosnians during World War II, during the Bosnian-Croatian war in former Yugoslavia.

Bosnian Moslems wearing fezzes with Nazi insignia Under the initiative of the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem-a powerful Moslem leader exiled in Berlin-Bosnian Moslems volunteered to serve in the ranks of the German Waffen-SS. Their special uniform combined Nazi with Moslem elements. Date: 1943

The Grand Mufti inspects Moslem SS units Under Husseini's initiative and supervision, Yugoslavian Moslem volunteer units-called "Handjar" (Sword)-joined the German Waffen-SS. They fought Yugoslav partisans in Bosnia and massacred Bosnians and Croatian Jews. Date: 1943

Bosnian Moslems who volunteered to the German army Thousands of Bosnian Moslems responded to the Mufti's call and volunteered to serve in the German army. The volunteers wore special uniforms; the Nazi insignia decorated their fezzes (typical moslem hat). Date: 1943

Nazis review Bosnian Moslem volunteers to the Waffen-SS In the spring of 1943, Bosnian Moslems, responding to their Mufti's call, volunteered to serve in the German army. They formed their own battalions within the ranks of the Waffen-SS. The Germans publicized the Moslem-German collaboration. Date: 1943

Bosnian Moslem soldiers in the German army, at prayer Hajj Amin al Husseini, the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, allied himself with Nazi Germany. While exiled in Berlin and sponsored by Nazi agencies, he brought to the creation of Moslem battalions within the German Waffen-SS. Date: 1943

Bosnian Moslem soldiers in the German army during prayer During the spring of 1943, some 20,000 Moslem Bosnians responded to the Mufti's call to join the German Waffen-SS. The Moslem volunteers, who served in separate units named "Handjar" (Sword), actively participated in war operations. Date: 1943

Hajj Amin al-Husseini with Bosnian Moslem fighters Husseini flew from Berlin to Sarajevo to bless the Moslem army inspect its arms and observe its exercises. Husseini's army in Croatia was comprised of some 20,000 Bosnian Moslems, all of whom volunteered to serve in the German Waffen-SS.

Bosnian Moslems who volunteered to the German army Moslems living in Bosnia, Yugoslavia, responded to the call of the exiled grand Mufti of Jerusalem and enlisted as volunteers in the German army. Seen here are uniformed volunteers holding a propaganda brochure: "Islam and Judaism." Date: 1943

Bosnian Moslems as volunteers in the German army Hajj Amin al Husseini-the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem exiled in Berlin-planned to create a strong Arabic army and to put it at the disposal of the Axis powers. Eventually, he succeeded in forming Moslem units within the German Waffen-SS. Date: 1943

1. The Mufti of Jerusalem, Haj Amin al-Husseini was later the notorious Nazi who mixed Nazi propaganda and Islam. He was wanted for war crimes and the slaughter of Jews in Bosnia by Yugoslavia. His mix of militant propagandizing Islam was an inspriation for both Yasser Arafat and Saddam Husein: He was also a close relative of Yasser Arafat and grandfather of the current Temple Mount Mufti. "Arafat's actual name was Abd al-Rahman abd al-Bauf Arafat al-Qud al-Husseini. He shortened it to obscure his kinship with the notorious Nazi and ex-Mufti of Jerusalem, Haj Muhammed Amin al-Husseini." Howard M. Sachar, A HISTORY OF ISRAEL (New York: Knopf, 1976). The Bet Agron International Center in Jerusalem interviewed Arafat's brother and sister, who described the Mufti as a cousin (family member) with tremendous influence on young Yassir after the Mufti returned from Berlin to Cairo. Yasser Arafat himself keeps his exact lineage and birthplace secret. Saddam Hussein was raised in the house of his uncle Khayrallah Tulfah, who was a leader in the Mufti's pro-Nazi coup in Iraq in May 1941.

Cooperation Between the Palestinians & the Nazis on World War II

Palestinian Forces and the Nazi Salut

A picture from the present Intifada

British secret intelligence files have been released in London about a German wartime plan for subversion in Palestine, when the territory was administered by Britain.

The plot involved parachute landings, thousands of gold coins and the Arab Muslim leader, Mohammed Amin el-Hussaini, the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, who was then living in exile in Berlin.

It also had the approval of Hitler's security chief, Heinrich Himmler.
But the project ended in fiasco.

Hostility

Palestine in 1944 was in a state of ferment, with the British Mandate authorities struggling to keep the lid on violent hostility between Arab and Jewish communities.

The Germans, on the other hand, wanted to make things a great deal worse and planned - with the support of the Grand Mufti - to arm Palestinian villagers and incite them to rise up against the Jews.

A small commando team of two German officers and three Arabs was formed in Berlin in early 1944.
Their leader, Colonel Kurt Wieland, an Arabic speaker who knew Palestine, had several meetings with the Mufti and they agreed a plan: drop by parachute, establish a base, gather intelligence and radio it back to Berlin; and recruit and arm Palestinian supporters with Nazi gold.

Just how it all went wrong is documented in the transcripts of interrogations by MI5 officers of Colonel Wieland and two of his men who were captured.

Meddling

Before the team flew out, the Mufti's people meddled in Colonel Wieland's careful plans, changing his equipment without telling him. The first flight was abandoned.

Then when they were on their way, in October 1944, the pilot lost his way and flew too high when they began their jump. They had planned a landing north of Jericho but instead landed south, lost their radio equipment and became separated.

Colonel Wieland and his two companions hid in an Arab village, in a cave and a ruined monastery.
They found no support for any Arab uprising and were captured a week later.
The other two men were never found.

The Mufti and the Fuhrer / By Mitchell Bard

In 1941, Haj Amin al-Husseini fled to Germany and met with Adolf Hitler, Heinrich Himmler, Joachim Von Ribbentrop and other Nazi leaders. He wanted to persuade them to extend the Nazis' anti-Jewish program to the Arab world.

The Mufti sent Hitler 15 drafts of declarations he wanted Germany and Italy to make concerning the Middle East. One called on the two countries to declare the illegality of the Jewish home in Palestine. Furthermore, "they accord to Palestine and to other Arab countries the right to solve the problem of the Jewish elements in Palestine and other Arab countries, in accordance with the interest of the Arabs and, by the same method, that the question is now being settled in the Axis countries." (1)

In November 1941, the Mufti met with Hitler, who told him the Jews were his foremost enemy. The Nazi dictator rebuffed the Mufti's requests for a declaration in support of the Arabs, however, telling him the time was not right. The Mufti offered Hitler his "thanks for the sympathy which he had always shown for the Arab and especially Palestinian cause, and to which he had given clear expression in his public speeches....The Arabs were Germany's natural friends because they had the same enemies as had Germany, namely....the Jews...." Hitler replied:

Germany stood for uncompromising war against the Jews. That naturally included active opposition to the Jewish national home in Palestine....Germany would furnish positive and practical aid to the Arabs involved in the same struggle....Germany's objective [is]...solely the destruction of the Jewish element residing in the Arab sphere....In that hour the Mufti would be the most authoritative spokesman for the Arab world. The Mufti thanked Hitler profusely. (2)

In 1945, Yugoslavia sought to indict the Mufti as a war criminal for his role in recruiting 20,000 Muslim volunteers for the SS, who participated in the killing of Jews in Croatia and Hungary. He escaped from French detention in 1946, however, and continued his fight against the Jews from Cairo and later Beirut. He died in 1974.

The Husseini family continues to play a role in Palestinian affairs, with Faisal Husseini, whose father was the Mufti's nephew, still regarded as one of their leading spokesmen in the territories.

Notes:

1) "Grand Mufti Plotted To Do Away With All Jews In Mideast," Response, (Fall 1991), pp. 2-3.

2) Record of the Conversation Between the Fuhrer and the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem on November 28, 1941, in the Presence of Reich Foreign Minister and Minister Grobba in Berlin, Documents on German Foreign Policy, 1918-1945, Series D, Vol. XIII, London, 1964, p. 881ff in Walter Lacquer and Barry Rubin, The Israel-Arab Reader, (NY: Facts on File, 1984), pp. 79-84.

Link & Sources:

Eretz Yisroel BBC NEWS The article in the site Information about Palestinian & Islamic terror Cyber encyclopedia of Jewish history and culture