page_title: Hitler's prophecy
section_title: 30 January 1941 speech
hierarchical_section_title: Hitler's prophecy / Allusions / 30 January 1941 speech
caption_attribution_description: For documentary purposes the German Federal Archive often retained the original image captions, which may be erroneous, biased, obsolete or politically extreme. Berlin, Hitler im Sportpalast Der Führer sprach zum ganzen deutschen Volk Am Abend des historischen 30. Januar hielt der Führer im Berliner Sportpalast vor Tausenden Volksgenossen und zahlreichen Soldaten eine grosse Rede an das ganze deutsche Volk. Sie wurde zu einer schneidenden Abrechnung mit den plutokratischen Kriegstreibern und zu einem begeisterten Bekenntnis zur Grösse und Macht des nationalsozialistischen Deutschlands. - Unser Bild zeigt den Führer nach dem Betreten des Rednerpultes, wo ihm orkanartiger Jubel entgegenbrauste, der ihm zunächst minutenlang das Sprechen unmöglich machte. Scherl Bilderdienst, Berlin 30.1.42 [Adolf Hitler] Abgebildete Personen: Hitler, Adolf: Reichskanzler, Deutschland
context_page_description: During a speech at the Reichstag on 30 January 1939, Adolf Hitler predicted "the annihilation of the Jewish race in Europe" in the event of another world war. These words, which were similar to comments that Hitler had previously made to foreign politicians in private meetings, came towards the end of a long speech that dealt with several topics. They were made in the context of Nazi attempts to increase Jewish emigration from Nazi Germany, before the outbreak of World War II.
  Allusions to Hitler's prophecy by Nazi leaders and in Nazi propaganda were common from 30 January 1941, when Hitler mentioned it again in a speech. The prophecy took on new meaning with the invasion of the Soviet Union in June 1941 and the German declaration of war against the United States that December, accelerating the systematic mass murder of Jews and leading to the globalization of World War II. In late 1941, Nazi propagandist Joseph Goebbels stated that the prophecy was being fulfilled while justifying the mass deportation of Jews from Germany.
context_section_description: On 30 January 1941, in a speech at the Sportpalast, Hitler mentioned the prophecy. Kershaw suggests that although Hitler may have had his threat in mind during the intervening years or was reminded of it by a subordinate, it was most likely the clip from The Eternal Jew that reminded him. Hitler stated:
  Not to be forgotten is the comment I’ve already made in the Reichstag, on September 1, 1939 [actually January 30, 1939], that if the world were to be pushed by Jewry into a general war, the role of the whole of Jewry in Europe would be finished . . . Today, they [the Jews] may still be laughing about [that statement], just as they laughed earlier about my prophecies. Now our racial knowledge is spreading from people to people. I hope that those who still are our antagonists will one day recognize the greater domestic enemy and will then make common cause with us: against the international Jewish exploitation and the corruption of nations!
  In the speech, Hitler implied that his previous threats against German Jews had caused the international Jewish community to influence Western powers into appeasement of Germany, and renewed threats would induce the Jews to convince the British government to make peace. Under the headline "The Jew will be exterminated", the speech was published in German and translated for international media companies. The editors of The New York Times (believed by the Nazis to be at the center of the "Jewish press") wrote that Hitler did not have a record of following through with promises or threats.
  At the time of the January 1941 speech, the Nazi leadership was already planning the invasion of the Soviet Union and considering deporting Jews to the conquered territories after a victory. Therefore, Kershaw argues, Hitler's "war against the 'Jewish-Bolshevik' archenemy was taking concrete shape in his mind" and referencing the prophecy was a covert allusion that "the showdown with the Jews was approaching". He also wrote that the reference was a "veiled hint" at something like the Madagascar Plan and "a repeat of the blackmail ploy that he held the Jews in his power as hostages". Although Hitler was "uncertain precisely how the war would bring about the destruction of European Jewry, he was sure that this would be the outcome".
caption: Hitler at the Sportpalast, 30 January 1943
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