Zionism in the Age of the Dictators
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| Author | Lenni Brenner |
|---|---|
| Country | England |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Historical writing |
| Publisher | Croom Helm Ltd |
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Publication date
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1983 |
| Media type | Book |
| Pages | 334 pages |
| ISBN | |
Zionism in the Age of the Dictators is a 1983 work by American Trotskyist Lenni Brenner. The book makes the argument that Zionist leaders collaborated with Fascism, particularly in Nazi Germany, in order to build up a Jewish presence in Palestine. One edition of the book features on its cover a medal struck by Nazi Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels to commemorate a visit by Leopold von Mildenstein of the Nazi SS elite corps to Palestine as a guest of the Zionist Federation of Germany.
Zionism in the Age of the Dictators is one of two works by Brenner on the alleged collaboration between Zionism and Nazism. Brenner returns to this topic in his 2002 work 51 Documents: Zionist Collaboration with the Nazis.
Upon its initial publication the book received a positive review in The Times, with Edward Mortimer describing it as "crisp and carefully documented". However, C.C. Aronsfeld was critical in a review published in the journal International Affairs, stating that "Brenner has produced a party political tract that unhinges the balance of history by ignoring too many difficulties, especially psychological. For once Stalinists will be pleased with the work of a Trotskyist".
In the wake of the controversy regarding Ken Livingstone's comments on Adolf Hitler and Zionism in 2016 (see below), the book attracted further critical comment. Social historian David Rosenberg argues that Zionism in the Age of the Dictators is "badly written and with poor scholarship – a piece of tabloid journalism glued together with selective facts and lots of conjecture". Brenner has stated that American publishing houses were not willing to print his work due to its controversial nature, and that his publishers (Croom Helm Ltd.) "gave [him] an ultimatum", saying "You are about to write the most controversial book imaginable ... So there can be no mistakes. You must send us a photocopy of every document you quote."
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Wikipedia