Which biblical story was so threatening to Nazi ideology that Hitler banned it? And which Jewish festival did Hitler ban? 

It was the book of Esther and Purim, the festival it inaugurated, that troubled Hitler.¹ Yet the Nazis also used the story of Esther to fan the flames of anti-Semitism. Why was it such a threat? This article is the first of three to explore the book of Esther and Purim, its link with anti-Semitism and its lessons for us today.

Click here for a summary of the Book of Esther.

The Nazis were not the first to be troubled by Esther. Christian commentators have struggled with the biblical story over the centuries, because it ends with 75,000 gentiles being killed when the Jews were allowed to defend themselves. Why did that happen? Because the original edict of the King for the Jews to be annihilated could not be reversed according to Persian law. The only solution to the annihilation of the Jewish people was for a new edict to be given to allow the Jews to defend themselves (Esther 8:11).

Fear of a robust Jewish defence against their enemies was used by the Nazis to stir up anti-Semitic feeling. Illustrated placards were posted in the streets of German cities showing Haman leading Mordechai and Esther on a horse and bearing the inscription, “Germans! This is what the Jews will do to you if Germany loses the war!”²

Purim and the Nazis

Perhaps it was this fear that drove the Nazis to commit atrocities to coincide with Jewish festivals such as Purim.³ On Purim in 1942, 5,000 Jews were massacred at Minsk, and in the town of Zdunska Wola in Nazi-occupied Poland, 10 Jews were hanged by Hitler's SS, in a sadistic parody of events in the book of Esther, with the rest of the Jews in that town forced to watch.⁴

On Purim in 1943, in Piotrkow, Poland, Jews living in the ghetto were told that there was to be an exchange with German citizens living in the settlement of Sarona, in Israel. Ten people with university degrees were needed for the exchange, the Germans declared. Those chosen were driven round the city a few times in Gestapo cars, before being taken, as darkness fell, to the Jewish cemetery. A deep pit had been dug. The Gestapo lined up the 'chosen,' made derisive speeches amid much drinking and laughter, and then ordered the Jews to undress. But only eight Jews had been brought from Piotrkow that night, so the Jewish watchman of the cemetery and his wife were also executed. This was an elaborate Purim game, as they put it, to avenge the ten sons of Haman.⁵

A similar event took place at Radom, Poland, that same Purim night. All Jewish doctors were told they could emigrate to Israel but were instead murdered.⁶

God’s pattern of protecting his people

It seems that hatred and fear of what the Jews might do drove the Nazis in equal measure – perhaps that fear was driven by a tacit acknowledgement that they cannot be destroyed because Someone is preserving them.

In Esther 6:13, Haman’s advisers and his wife, Zeresh, say to him, “Since Mordechai, before whom your downfall has started, is of Jewish origin, you cannot stand against him—you will surely come to ruin!” It was a great bit of advice, but rather too late for Haman.
According to Jewish tradition, Zeresh’s father was Tattenai, who had tried to halt the rebuilding of the Temple in Jerusalem in Ezra 5.⁷

A central feature of Jewish festivals is remembering the history of God’s peopl e, recalling his deliverance time after time, like a tapestry or pattern of deliverance being woven over centuries.

Tattenai questioned the rebuilding and turned to the Persian king for support. However, his request caused Cyrus’ document giving permission to rebuild to be recovered and Tattenai was ordered to assist the Jews with it. It is an episode with echoes of the Haman story – a forgotten bit of history coming to light and evil intent being overthrown, thus allowing the Lord’s purposes to stand.

There is a subtle teaching here: remember the lessons of history regarding God’s dealings with his people. A central feature of Jewish festivals is remembering the history of God’s people, recalling his deliverance time after time, like a tapestry or pattern of deliverance being woven over centuries. One of the features of the Lord’s deliverance is that seemingly insurmountable obstacles are crushed before him; the rough way is made smooth (Isa 40:4; Luke 3:5).

So, Tattenai’s daughter and Haman’s wife, Zeresh, thought she had found an original way to kill Mordechai: hanging. A midrashic commentary imagines the conversation between Zeresh and Haman:

Now, you must remember that Mordechai is a Jew and they are very hard to kill. Remember that it’s said Pharaoh tried to kill Moses by decapitation [a Jewish tradition]. But if you are thinking of stoning him, remember how David slew Goliath with stones. If you try to drown him, remember how G‑d parted the sea before Israel. If you want to exile him to the desert, remember how Israel wandered in the desert for forty years and thrived. If you leave him to rot in prison, remember that Joseph was released from jail and became the viceroy. Chananya, Mishael and Azarya [Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego] came through a fiery furnace, and Daniel left the lion’s den unscathed. Don’t try to blind him; remember how Samson killed a mass of people while sightless. There is one way left for you: hang Mordechai on a tree!⁸

You can imagine Haman rubbing his hands in glee with this fiendish proposal. Of course, the same thing was tried a few hundred years later with another Jewish man who sought to save his people. The Enemy thought that he had irrevocably cursed and destroyed the Lord’s Messiah by having him hung on a tree through crucifixion, but God could not be defeated.

There is a particular kind of unreasoning hubris about anti-Semitism, a vaulting pride and self-belief that directly opposes the Lord’s plans and leads to destruction. Haman is so filled with irrational hatred that he decides to kill not just Mordechai but his whole race – a genocide. In Haman’s case, it is an ancient enmity since he was descended from the original anti-Semites, the Amalekites. Esther 3:1 calls Haman an Agagite. Agag was king of the Amalekites who appears in 1 Samuel 15:20 where Saul says that he “completely destroyed the Amalekites and brought back Agag their king”.

The Enemy thought that he had irrevocably cursed and destroyed the Lord’s Messiah by having him hung on a tree through crucifixion, but God could not be defeated.

The name Agag is from a Hebrew root from which come words to do with fire, flames, fury and anger; appropriate for one who seeks to destroy. The Amalekites had been the first people to attack Israel when they left Egypt at the battle described in Exodus 17 when the Israelites prevailed as long as Moses held up his hands. At that time, “the Lord said to Moses, ‘…I will completely blot out the name of Amalek from under heaven.’ Moses built an altar and called it The Lord is my Banner. He said, ‘Because hands were lifted up against the throne of the Lord, the Lord will be at war against the Amalekites from generation to generation’” (Ex 17:14-16).

The word for banner there is also the Hebrew word for a sign or miracle: ‘nes’. So, the Lord is a standard or banner for his people and their miraculous deliverer.

Note that Moses said the Amalekite attack was a direct affront to the Lord’s Throne. When you try to destroy God’s people, you touch the apple of his eye, as Zechariah 2:7 says:

“Come, Zion! Escape, you who live in Daughter Babylon!” For this is what the Lord Almighty says: “After the Glorious One has sent me against the nations that have plundered you—for whoever touches you touches the apple of his eye.”

Corrie ten Boom, a Dutch Christian who helped to save Jews during the War, recalled watching Jews being rounded up by the Germans and crying to her father, “Those poor people!” Her father echoed, “Those poor people.” But to her surprise, he said, “I pity the poor Germans, Corrie. They have touched the apple of God's eye.”⁹

The Talmud singles out a nation called "Germamya of Edom" as descending from Amalek.¹⁰ And some have said that this refers to Germany. Certainly, the Talmud records that Amalek is the epitome of anti-Semitism in the world.11 Haman the Agagite was descended from Amalek, the grandson of Esau, therefore he and Mordechai, who was of Jacob’s line, were very distantly related.

Patterns of deliverance

As with the Jacob-Esau and Isaac-Ishmael stories, and, indeed, the Leah-Rachel story and the consequent fall-out in the next generation between Joseph and his brothers, sibling jealousy and rivalry can lead to the bitterest consequences, but also to a key pattern of deliverance – familial rejection leading to salvation. The rejected sibling, typified in the story of Joseph, is chosen by the Lord to become a redeemer. Yeshua (Jesus) himself was, of course, rejected and delivered up to death by his own brethren.

Joseph’s story is mirrored in the Mordechai-Esther narrative. There are similar patterns of deliverance. Joseph and Esther rise to positions of influence within the court of a foreign power which holds sway over the Jewish people. Both save their people from death, in Joseph’s case from famine, and in so doing they risk their own lives. Joseph is nearly killed by his brothers and later put in prison for many years. Esther risks her life twice with unauthorised approaches to the King and she continues in the ‘prison’ of a probably loveless marriage to a capricious despot for untold years.

The disturbed sleep of a dreaming ruler leads to the release of Joseph from prison and his rise to power; similarly, the King’s sleepless night in the book of Esther causes a catalyst of events leading to Esther’s triumph. The Mordechai element of the story closely mirrors Joseph’s at this point: unjust punishment overturned and service rewarded with honour and power.

Both Joseph and Esther live in exile as strangers at the mercy of a foreign power - the only Jew in the palace, although their identities are hidden at first. Joseph’s brothers would then receive salvation from famine through their rejected sibling and Esther became a saviour for her people “at such a time” (Esther 4:14). In this way, they are forerunners or types of Jesus the Messiah, who was rejected by his own people.

The Amalekite connection

For the Amalekites there would be no way of repentance. In Deuteronomy 25:19, Israel was commanded to “blot out the memory of the Amalekites from under heaven”.

This is echoed in the book of Esther with its command that the days of Purim should be remembered and kept generation after generation (9:28). When Esther is read in synagogues at Purim, every time the name of Haman is mentioned people use football rattles and all kinds of noise-makers, or drum their feet on the floor, to drown out the utterance of Haman’s name to honour the Lord’s command that the Amalekite name should be blotted out.

In 1 Samuel 15, Saul disobeyed the Lord’s instructions not to take plunder from the Amalekites. They were to be utterly destroyed, including all their property. Saul disobeyed and took the plunder and so the Lord rejected him as king over Israel. However, in the story of Esther, the Jews are very careful not to lay their hands on the plunder (Esther 9:10).

Is the Amalekite connection the reason Mordechai chose not to bow before Haman? Bowing to show honour was not prohibited to Jews – but bowing to an idol was. In Jewish tradition, it is said that Haman wore an idolatrous image on his clothing preventing Mordechai from honouring him. But perhaps Mordechai is simply refusing to bow to an Amalekite. This ancient enmity also explains why Haman wishes to destroy all Mordechai’s people once he finds out he is a Jew and therefore the sworn enemy of the Amalekites.

The Enemy seeking to thwart God’s plans

That same irrational and implacable hatred has fed anti-Semitism throughout history and it continues today, making the story of Esther continually relevant. Academics have written book after book trying to define and explain anti-Semitism in its various guises. However, no single explanation satisfies because anti-Semitism morphs and changes according to what the Lord is accomplishing through his people over time. Why? Because it is rooted in the Enemy’s opposition to the salvation purposes of God through the Jewish people and their Messiah. “Salvation is from the Jews,” says Jesus, in John 4:22.

This is why the Enemy has worked persistently, often through the Church, to attempt to destroy the Jewish people in order to prevent the Messiah’s coming. He also repeatedly tried to prevent his first coming: the festivals of Purim and Chanukah¹² recall historical attempts to destroy the Jewish people and the massacre of the Innocents was a direct attempt to annihilate the infant Messiah .

Anti-Semitism morphs and changes according to what the Lord is accomplishing through his people over time.

Furious that the Jews had returned from exile, as the Lord had promised, the Enemy incited Haman to destroy all Jews throughout the Persian empire, including those who had already returned to Israel. If successful, Haman’s plan would have prevented the construction of the very Temple in which the Messiah would stand and destroyed God’s holy people prepared to receive the Saviour of the world. Jesus could not have been born among any other people, because only the Jews worshipped his Father, the God of Israel and he could not remain obedient to his Father among idol-worshippers.

Jesus will return to his regathered people a second time from the place he left (Zech 14:4 and Acts 1:11) and this is why anti-Zionism has become the dominant form of anti-Semitism. The Amalekite spirit, the spirit feeding anti-Semitism which seeks the destruction of God’s people, is the spirit of Anti-Christ.

Anti-Semitism even manifests itself among God’s own people. It is known in Hebrew as ‘sinat chinam’ or causeless hatred. The Talmud speaks about this phenomenon and its destructive effect on Jewish life, recording that the First Temple was burned down because of idol worship, sexual immorality and bloodshed, but that the Second Temple was lost because of ‘sinat chinam’, causeless hatred – or factionalism – which was endemic to Jewish national life such as Pharisees versus Sadducees, and the attendant power struggles. The Talmud infers from this that causeless hatred is as grave as idol worship, sexual immorality and bloodshed put together.^{13 14}

Jesus spoke about being hated without a cause in John 15:25: “But this is to fulfil what is written in their Law: ‘They hated Me without reason.’ ”¹⁵

God is building a new type of temple

Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook, first Chief Rabbi of Israel, wrote that if the Second Temple was destroyed and the people exiled through ‘sinat chinam’, causeless hatred, then the Temple will be rebuilt and the people gathered together again though ‘ahavat chinam’, causeless love.¹⁶

And that is what the Lord is doing – he is not building a physical temple, but a temple in and among his people, through his love at work in us, with Messiah Jesus himself as the cornerstone, “in whom the whole building, being fitted together, is growing into a holy temple in the Lord” (Eph 2:19-22).

Next week we will look at how God, unmentioned in the book of Esther, worked his purposes, and how the lies of the Enemy were used to distort God’s word in Nazi Germany.

Notes

¹Purim - Wikipedia - Elliott Horowitz, Reckless rites: Purim and the legacy of Jewish violence, Princeton, N.J: Princeton University Press, 2006, 91.
²https://web.nli.org.il/sites/nli/hebrew/digitallibrary/pages/viewer.aspx?presentorid=EDU_XML_ENG&docid=EDU_XML_ENGSP843
³Martin Gilbert, The Holocaust: The Jewish Tragedy, Fontana, London, 1987.
⁴Ibid., p. 299
⁵Ibid., pp. 552-3.
⁶Ibid. p.553.
⁷TATTENAI AND HAMAN (jewishbible.org);
⁸Who Was Zeresh? - Haman's Wicked and Wise Wife - Purim (chabad.org)
⁹Corrie ten Boom with John and Elizabeth Sherrill, The Hiding Place, London 1971; 2001 edition: p. 69.
¹⁰Megillah 6b.
¹¹https://groups.google.com/g/alt.archaeology/c/PEOM6m_U1k8 - The Hitler-Hamman Connection, Yomtov Soreq.
¹²The events of Chanukah are chronicled in the Books of the Maccabees.
¹³Talmud, Yoma 9b.
¹⁴Sinat chinam - The Jewish Chronicle (thejc.com)
¹⁵See Psalm 109:3, though note Psalm 35:19, 69:4.
¹⁶Rabbi Julian Sinclair, Sinat chinam - The Jewish Chronicle (thejc.com),6 March 2009.