Max Naumann (1875-1939) was the initiator of Verband Nationaldeutscher Juden (League of National German Jews), which promoted elimination of Jewish ethnic identity. The league was outlawed by the Nazis on November 18, 1935.
Along with Julius Brodnitz, Heinrich Stahl, Kurt Blumenfeld and Martin Rosenblüth, Naumann was one of the Jewish activists who were summoned to a meeting with Hermann Göring on March 25, 1933, during which Göring tried unsuccessfully to enlist their help for the prevention of a rally against Nazi antisemitism which was planned in New York for March 27.
Opposing other Jewish organizations, such as the Centralverein or the Zionist groups, he advocated total assimilation as an answer to anti-Semitism. During the Weimar Republic Naumann was active with the German People's Party. He was quoted in Michael Brenner's book The Renaissance of Jewish Culture in Weimar Germany as saying "The election campaign must not be a struggle of religious conceptions, it must be a decisive struggle about our Germanness!" in reference to the 1933 election that resulted in Hitler's rise to power.
In this all too brief article, I note two ideas at odds. First, Max's words: "The election campaign must not be a struggle of religious conceptions, it must be a decisive struggle about our Germanness!" Second, the author's intro: "Max Naumann (1875-1939) was the initiator of Verband nationaldeutscher Juden (League of National German Jews), which promoted elimination of Jewish ethnic identity."
To my mind, Max's urging to define a people's Germanness is not quite the same as eliminating their Jewish ethnic identity. Today, a pundit might call Max "politically savvy".
Few other scenes from history are cited as much as Nazi Germany as an example of the power of propaganda and public relations. So, this rhetorical move towards tolerance: Where does it come from? Fear and self-preservation? Bravery? Nationalism? Was he a fraud? And what happened after the 1933 election?
I will be looking for books and more information on Max. But this article could be bunk.
