Abraham Asscher

As Lucy Dawidowicz has pointed out, the terms “collaboration” or “cooperation” are really a misrepresentation when applied to Jewish leaders, whether in western or eastern Europe. Unlike the true collaborators such as Quisling, Laval and Vlasov, none of the Jewish leaders shared “common goals and aspirations with the Germans.” Whatever their other failings and misdeeds may have been, “no Jew… ever awaited German victory. No Jew ever hoped for a New Order in Europe.” The leaders of the Judenräte , or their equivalent, were forced by a ruthless and merciless enemy to comply with commands and decrees which they surely considered abhorrent. The terrible choice with which they were then faced was which of these dreadful alternatives will cause the least misery and loss of life? And if we refuse to accept any of the options, what will the consequences be?' We know that the vanity and ambition of certain leaders played their part, and of course it was irrelevant which alternative was chosen; ultimately, all were condemned. But it took a Chaim Kaplan to have the foresight to recognize this. The actions of Abraham Asscher and David Cohen in the Netherlands, illustrate that the nature of the dilemma facing Jewish leadership under Nazi dominion and in many cases their responses, were the same, irrespective of geographical location. Born in 1880, Abraham Asscher was the proprietor of the most important diamond firm in Amsterdam, The Royal Asscher Diamond Company, founded in the 19th century. In 1907, the brothers Abraham and Joseph Asscher received a request from the British monarch, Edward VII, to cut the enormous Cullinan diamond. The two parts of this jewel, known as Cullinan 1 and 2, are now set in a crown and sceptre which are part of the British Crown Jewels, to be seen in the Tower of London. As an indication of the standing of Asscher's business, shortly after the occupation of the Netherlands by Germany in May 1940, Hermann Göring visited Asscher's diamond factory and purchased diamonds to the value of 1.4 million guldens. Abraham Asscher was a member of the Amsterdam Chamber of Commerce, and one of the leaders of the Liberal party, which he represented on the provincial council of North-Holland from 1917 to 1940. He was active in many Jewish institutions, but had no interest in Zionism. In 1932 he was elected chairman of the standing committee of the Union of Ashkenazic Communities and chairman of the Amsterdam Jewish Community Council. He thus became the outstanding personality of Dutch Jewry and one of its chief spokesmen. Asscher formed the Comité voor Bijzondere Joodse Belangen (Committee for Special Jewish Affairs) in reaction to events in Germany following Hitler's seizure of power, remaining head of the organisation until it was dissolved in March 1941. In 1938 the borders of the Netherlands were closed to Jewish refugees. It was only after Reichskristallnacht that the ban was lifted for a short period and 7,000 refugees were admitted to Holland. The German Jewish refugees were housed in a camp at Westerbork, built by the government, but financed by the Dutch Jewish Community. The Dutch government had justified the immigration restrictions on the grounds that they would prevent the rise of anti-Semitism in Holland. It has been suggested that the readiness of the Jewish “aristocracy” to become involved in the financing and organisation of the refugee problem was a reflection of the Jewish leadership's attitude toward their position within Dutch society. They wished to assist the fleeing German Jews, whilst at the same time displaying their loyalty as good Dutchmen by placing the interests of the Netherlands first. At a protest meeting in November 1938 in the wake of Kristallnacht , Asscher thanked the government both “for the way in which it has demonstrated its recognition of the seriousness of the situation [in Germany] and also for the great amount of work which has been done by a number of its prominent members and