Samuel Cohen

In meetings between Nazis Hans Hartenstein and Hans Schmidt-Roelke, and Zionist supporter Sam Cohen a deal was struck to allow Jews to leave Nazi controlled Germany. Jews could pay the money to migrate to Palestine, but in exchange they would have to leave behind all other wealth not need to move their family. Wealth in this manner would be confiscated by the Nazi government. Other positions included houses and businesses would be given to white Germans.

Author and historian Edwin Black states that “the Zionist movement promoting German exports would not only increase desperately needed foreign exchange and domestic jobs, but would pierce a stake through the heart of the Jewish-led anti-Nazi boycott”

After his meeting with Hartenstein and Schmidt-Roelke Cohen leaves for Palestine. He was to work out transfer arrangements with the German consul Heinrich Wolff.

While there he Cohen worked with Chaim Arlosoroff and Selig Brodetsky both Zionists to check and see if the German government had kept it’s end of the bargain to allow German Jews to export enough money to immigrate to Palestine.

After all the channels were cleared in Palestine for the influx of Jews leaving Germany the Zionist organizations began to see if the Nazis made good on their end of the deal. After a week of correspondence between Palestine and Germany (through Britain) they received confirmation that Jews were now allowed to send the needed money to Britain to pay for passage to Palestine.

Due to tensions between world wide Jewish population and the Nazis (the counter boycotts and protests) the Zionists thought it unwise to announce they had worked out a secret deal with the Nazis to allow middle class Jews to buy their way out of Germany. Instead they gave credit to the British government.

Arlosoroff in an attempt to finalize the movement of German Jews two Palestine goes behind the back of the London lead Zionist movement to approve land deals with the Arab sheikhs. Other secret meetings with Zionists including Weizmann, Cunliffe-Lister, Wauchope, and Rutenberg to discuss the creation of a fund / holding company to buy land in Palestine.

In between secret meetings Arlosoroff would try to update the London Zionists who would get upset that London was not in control and getting to approve all deals and decisions being made by Arlosoroff. Neumann and Senator eventually resigned in protest of Arlosoroff’s secret meetings that they were not apart of.

Some how Arlosoroff learned of the encoded telegram sent by Neumann to London telling them to stop support of Arlosoroff, and in response Arlosoroff sent a second telegram posing as Neumann stating that the first message was sent without his permission and to disregard.

After another fight between Arlosoroff and Senator - Cohen proposes they use his preexisting orange orchard land business as the holding company. German representative Wolff agrees to this arrangement if Cohen agreed to only buy certain products from Germany rather than other cheaper sources.

Due to the boycott against German goods especially in Zionist run Palestine the Nazis cancel the currency exchange deal they had made with Cohen a few months before. This was found out by Cohen and Arlosoroff separately after returning to Germany from Palestine. Jews that had payed the fee were also being turned back at the border.

The deal was revoked by Hans Hartenstein since the Zionist’s had promised that this deal would increase German exports. With Jews in Palestine taking up boycott against Germany this was not the case.

Nazis had also already reduced the amount of the exchange to 2/3rds the required amount to immigrate to Palestine. This was due to the world wide boycotts which the Nazis saw to be part of the Jewish conspiracy which the Zionists could call off at any time.

Cohen had been working with the Nazis to allow Jews to give 10% of their value to the Nazis. In exchange the Nazis would allow the Jews to pay the 1000 pounds it would take to transfer to Palestine. The remainder of the money would stay in Germany where it would be sold through Cohen’s company to outside inverters wanting to buy up cheep German money.

With the Jewish led boycott pounding hard on the German economy Hitler had little choice and accepted Cohen’s deal.

Nearly a week after Cohen’s deal was approved via telegram the deal is put into writing by Nazi officials and Jews are able to liquidate assets, but only through Cohen’s company Hanotaiah.

This monopoly Cohen held for the liquidation of all Jews wishing to leave Germany was not liked by top level Zionists - especially when Cohen just weeks before had promised that this was not an exclusive monopoly through his company.