LoginMenu
ReturnResources
The Fugu Plan: The Untold Story Of The Japanese And The Jews During World War II /

If someone who is rich and powerful comes to you for a favor, you don't persecute him -- you help him. Having such a person indebted to you is a great insurance policy.

There was one nation that did treat the Jews as if they were powerful and rich. The Japanese never had much exposure to Jews, and knew very little about them. In 1919 Japan fought alongside the anti-Semitic White Russians against the Communists. At that time the White Russians introduced the Japanese to the book, "The Protocols of the Elders of Zion". The Japanese studied the book and, according to all accounts, naively believed its propaganda. Their reaction was immediate and forceful -- they formulated a plan to encourage Jewish settlement and investment into Manchuria. People with such wealth and power as the Jews possess, the Japanese determined, are exactly the type of people with whom we want to do business!

The Japanese called their plan for Jewish settlement "The Fugu Plan". The fugu is a highly poisonous blowfish. After the toxin-containing organs are painstakingly removed, it is used as a food in Japan, and is considered an exquisite delicacy. If it is not prepared carefully, however, its poison can kill a person. The Japanese saw the Jews as a nation with highly valuable potential, but, as with the fugu, in order to take advantage of that potential, they had to be extremely careful. Otherwise, the Japanese thought, the plan would backfire and the Jews would annihilate Japan with their awesome power.

The Japanese were allies of the Nazis, yet they allowed thousands of European refugees -- including the entire Mirrer Yeshivah -- to enter Shanghai and Kobe during World War II. They welcomed these Jews into their country, not because they bore any great love for the Jews, but because they believed that Jews had access to enormous resources and amazingly influential power, which could greatly benefit Japan. If anti-Semites truly believe that Jews rule the world, why don't they all relate to Jews like the Japanese did? The fact that Jews are generally treated as outcasts proves that people do not really believe that Jews are anywhere near as wealthy or powerful as they claim. It proves that anti-Semites do not take their own propaganda seriously.

Notes

Review:
In all the literature of the Holocaust and of World War II, the story of the European Jews who fled across the world to the unlikely haven of Japan has remained untold -- until now. The Fugu Plan: The Untold Story Of The Japanese And The Jews During World War Two is a powerful narrative which follows a group of these refugees throughout their journey across Stalin's Russia, their experiences in Japan, and their struggle for survival in an Asian ghetto. Interwoven with this moving saga are the details of an astounding top-secret plan to create an "Israel in Asia" under Japanese control by offering displaced European Jews a safe haven in Manchuria in return for the financial and technical skills they would bring to this outpost of the Japanese Empire. Although this so-called "Fugu Plan" would founder with Japan's entry into the Tripartite Pact with Nazi Germany and Italy in 1940, its legacy, as the Holocaust swept over Europe, was the survival of thousands of Jews issued Japanese transit visas and given wartime refuge in Asia. That they survived at all is testimony to the courage of many individuals, both Japanese and Jews, whose stories are told here -- and to the seeds planted by the unlikely vision embodied in The Fugu Plan. An important and vital addition to the Judaic studies collection about an almost unknown aspect of the holocaust experience. -- Midwest Book Review
No.
Barcode
Branch
Location
Call No.
Status
Due Date
1
E10384
SKW
High School
940 TOK
Available
--
Total 1 Records , Current 1 / 1 Pageļ¼šPreviousNext
Related Resources