1938: Hermann Goering Suggests that Madagascar should Become a Jewish Country

Back in the 19th century, there were different opinions of the territory on which European Jews could relocate. Relocation was, on one hand, sought by anti-Semites trying to get rid of the Jews. On the other hand, such solutions were also considered by the Jews themselves. Most of the Jews wanted to return to the Promised Land (Palestine), which was then under Turkish rule at that time. The Nazi minister Hermann Goering suggested Madagascar as a place where European Jews could be relocated. His plan foresaw the relocation of a million Jews annually, over the course of four years. The Jews on Madagascar then became German hostages of a kind, used to blackmail the American Jews.

Madagascar was French colony at that time. When Hitler’s army defeated the French, it was envisioned in the peace treaty that France would relinquish Madagascar to Germany, for the accommodation of Jews. The British Navy was supposed to provide the transport, since it was thought that the UK will soon be defeated in the war. However, the plan failed when the British successfully defended their country and took control of Madagascar with the help of De Gaulle’s Free French Forces.