Who Betrayed the Jews: The Realities of Nazi Persecution in the Holocaust

A groundbreaking study that examines the various ways Jews were betrayed by their fellow countrymen during World War II

In many cases the Jews betrayed during World War II regarded themselves as Hungarians, Frenchmen, etc., first and Jews second, so persecution came as a terrible shock to them. Many had fought for their country in World War I, but this offered no protection—not even for those awarded the Iron Cross. Their neighbors and school friends betrayed them to the authorities. In turn the authorities "legally" withdrew their rights and also stripped them of their possessions under Aryanization policies. Bodies such as the police and railway companies cooperated with the Nazis in transporting Jews to their deaths. The betrayal did not end in 1945. There is evidence of Holocaust survivors being attacked as they returned home. Historian Agnes Grunwald-Spier reveals, among other accounts, the story of Prosper de Zitter, a Nazi conspirator who betrayed hundreds of Jews to the Gestapo.

Agnes Grunwald-Spier, MBE, is the author of The Other Schindlers.