Theodore N. Kaufman

Theodore Newman Kaufman (Sometimes known as Theodore Nathan Kaufman, born 1910 in Manhattan) is best known as the author of Germany Must Perish!,^[1] a text he self-published in 1941 which called for the destruction of Germany and Germans. The text was used in Nazi propaganda in the wartime era.

In 1939, Kaufman had called for the sterilization of Americans, in order to prevent them from becoming "homicidal monsters".^[2]

Family Background

Theodore Kaufman was one of four sons born into a Jewish family that had recently emigrated from Germany to New York City. His father, Dr. Anton Kaufman (1883-1943), had been a reporter for the Berlin Morgenzeitung in Berlin, Germany before immigrating to the USA in 1905. Anton Kaufman was the publisher of the Newark Jewish Chronicle in the USA.

Theodore Kaufman's mother died in 1939. His three brothers were Herbert, Julian, and Leonard.^[3]

Early Life and Career in Business

Kaufman traveled widely as a young man, as far away as the Sahara Desert and Algeria^[4], which he spoke highly of in later interviews.

Eventually settling down in the business world, he was first "advertising man" and was published the New Jersey Legal Record. As of 1941, he ran a successful theater ticket agency in Newark, New Jersey^[5].

Involvement in Politics

In 1939, Kaufmann was chairman of a shadowy group called the "American Federation for Peace". He was reportedly friends with Roosevelt speech writer Sam Rosenman. The German press of the time misinterpreted this to mean Kaufman was an FDR adviser himself, which was not true.

Germany Must Perish

In late 1940, he began writing "Germany Must Perish", the booklet he is most known for. It was published in early 1941, and inspired anger in Germany.^{[citation needed]}

"Since the fang’s poison and its deadly power rests not in the body but in the war psyche of the Germans, one can ensure the prosperity and security of mankind only by finally extinguishing this soul and the rotten body that houses it, removing it finally from the world. There is no other choice: Germany must perish!" (--From "Germany Must Perish", by T.N. Kaufman)

"Not only must there be no more German wars in fact, there must not even remain the slightest possibility of one ever again occurring. A final halt to German aggression, not a temporary cessation, must be the goal of the present struggle... [Germany] must be prepared to pay a Total Penalty. And there is one, and only one, such Total Penalty: Germany must perish forever! In fact -- not in fancy." (--From "Germany Must Perish", by T.N. Kaufman)

References

^ Argyle Press, Newark, N.J., Library of Congress Call No.: DD222.K3
^ Time Magazine, Mar. 24, 1941
^ The Lewiston Daily Sun, page 9, January 2, 1943
^ Time Magazine, Mar. 24, 1941
^ Time Magazine, Mar. 24, 1941