The Indian Bolshevik

  On 25 August 1933, bourgeoise Jews who were part of Zionist German Jews held a talk with Nazis and reached an agreement - Haavara Agreement. It means transfer agreement. It was a major factor in making possible the migration of approximately 60,000 German Jews to Palestine in 1933–1939. This is a lesser-known fact. The agreement enabled rich Jews fleeing persecution under the new Nazi regime to transfer some portion of their assets to British Mandatory Palestine. Emigrants sold their assets in Germany to pay for essential goods (manufactured in Germany) to be shipped to Mandatory Palestine. This pact between Nazis and rich jews was so controversial that it was opposed by Jewish leaders within and outside the Zionist movement itself. For rich jews in Germany, the agreement offered a way to leave an increasingly hostile environment in Germany; for the Yishuv, the new Jewish community in Palestine, it offered access to both immigrant labour and economic support; for the Germans, it ...