HITLER'S JEWISH SOLDIERS is a book by Bryan Mark Rigg (pub.2002), where he examines the Mischlings- half-Jews and quarter jews who fought in the Wehrmacht and in some cases the SS. Rigg, a Christian who found out his mother was Jewish and who converted, and also served in the marines and Israeli army (and looks like Poddy on SEINFELD), based his book on interviews with older Mischlings, much like Alexander Cockburn did a book THE THREAT, which he used (mostly Jewish) ex-Soviet troops who made it to the west) to show how weak the USSR military actually was compared to Reagan's insistence on it being a dangerous threat.

Rigg follows the usual historical line about the Holocaust, but he shows that the Third Reich was much more diverse in dealing with Jews and half-Jews then most histories tell you. The Mischlings at first were dismissed from the Reichswehr and Wehrmacht, but the military took their time getting rid of
them. The Nazi bureaucracy wasn't that powerful.

Rigg also points out that when the war started, the Wehrmacht started taking Mischlings, and in fact many volunteered for immediate duty to 'prove' their worth as fighting men. Also, to not have used them or to have purged the ones remaining on duty would have caused disruption in his war machine.

Again, the pride that a lot of Mischlings took in being German and getting revenge for Versailles was always a factor.

Also, unusual for the standard Jewish view of Nazi Germany, Rigg examines the reasons the Nazis came to power, and he documents the leadership many Jews had in communist and revolutionary parties, as well as German fears of Bolshevism. Another factor he notes is the dislike of the Ostjuden, the Jews from eastern Europe. Many German Jews disliked them as well. 'You're acting like an Ostjuden', abrasive Jews were told.

Many of the Mischlings Rigg spoke to admitted their hatred of the Ostjuden, communists, and a pride in being German.

Also, in Germany, the Mischlings, while disliked by the Nazis, were also disliked by jewish organizations. Many of the latter actually supplied information to the Nazis, and after the war, these organizations gave the Mischlings no help. It was felt they weren't genuinely Jewish, so that was the end of them.

One Mischling vet recalled how he was attacked by Jews for having served. Another how a Rabbi ordered him out of a Synagogue.

While Rigg follows the usual canard that 'there are no races', it's obvious the Jews don't feel that way. Also, Rigg gives a portrait of Hitler as a complicated man, not the usual mad dog as shown in a lot of history books.
In fact, Hitler seemed to approve of jews one moment, and turn against them the next. Also throughout the war, he kept issuing Genehmigung, (exemptions) for Mischlings so they could serve, be promoted, receive awards. Even in the most desparate battles, Hitler had a list he had to personally approve.

'The praise HJitler gives the Jews is astonishing. Hitler acknowledged the Jew's ability to persevere againts heavy odds...Hitler had once said 'There cannot be two chosen people. We are the people of God. Does that not explain it all?'

Rigg stated that a lot of Mischlings still fought and wanted to, even as their
own relatives were being rounded up. But again, mass deportations weren't
the rule, it was deportations here and there. The Nazi system was much less
systematic than Rigg had previously supposed.

The book has a wealth of footnotes. One I particularly liked was its discussion of the 442nd Combat Team, the unit of Japanese-American in WWII that is the army's most decorated combat unit. 22 Japanese were awarded Medals of Honor by Clinton, and a retired Colonel quoted by
Rigg states getting that many Medals of Honor is remarkable if not impossible. 'It smells of politics.'

Rigg got a lot of favorable criticism, but many Jews thought he was being too soft on Hitler.

Also, Rigg challenges Goldhagen's HITLER'S WILLING EXECUTIONERS in showing how Mischlings refused to believe, like most Germans, that there death camps. Everyone was stunned when this news came out, showing German 'guilt' in previous knowledge of such camps is unlikely.

Rigg has no direct interview transcripts, but I thought it was a fascinating book about a class of people...the Mischlings...whose participation in the Wehrmacht had been ignored. It also examines what a society does when it has servicemen who are not full-blooded members of society. The Nazis and Hitler felt they needed them, but still wondered how they could be assimilated.

Certainly this is a question in America, where we have a multi-racial military that demands to be accepted, and in fact many non-Americans wear the uniform. The MIschlings at least were German, while our troops have no national characteristics at all.