The History of a Lie/Chapter 3
CHAPTER THREE
FICTION FORGED INTO “FACT”
A number of years after this Russian translation of the Goedsche-Retcliffe story appeared, Sir John Retcliffe, alias Goedsche, deeming it important for his purpose of adding fuel to the flame of anti-semitism that had been lighted in Germany, undertook to convert this work of fiction, this offspring of his imagination, into a statement of fact. This led him to adopt the simple device of consolidating into one continuous speech the dialogue contained in his shilling shocker, and putting the speech into the mouth of an imaginary Rabbi in such a way as to make it appear to be an address delivered by him to a secret convocation of Jews. And the very man who had invented the speeches set down in his work of fiction twenty years before, now vouched for the authenticity of the obviously fabricated speech which he attributed to a Rabbi who had his birth in the contorted mind of this notorious forger.
A translation from the Russian of the apocryphal “Rabbi’s Speech,” with the introductory note as published in Russia by G. Butmi, in 1907, in a book entitled “The Enemy of the Human Race,” dedicated by the author to the Black Hundreds, will now be laid before the reader. A comparison of it, with the scene in the cemetery, will at once demonstrate the identity of authorship. Below is a facsimile of the title page of this book, a copy of which is in the Russian collection of the Library of Congress, in Washington, D. C.
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THE RABBI’S SPEECH
To the Jewish People.[1]
[Paragraphs which are indented and parts in italics were omitted in the Butmi version, but are given in the French publication “Le Péril Judéo Maçonnique—I. Les Protocols des Sages de Zion,” by Jouin, Paris, 1920.]
“Our fathers ordained the chosen ones in Israel to gather, without fail, once every century, at the grave of our great Master Caleb, the sainted Rabbi Simeon Ben Judah, whose great knowledge is imparted to the elect of each generation to gain the power over the whole world and authority over all the descendants of Israel. . . .
“It is already eighteen centuries that the war of Israel is being waged with the power which had been promised to Abraham but which had been snatched away from him by the Cross. Trampled under foot, humiliated by his enemies, ceaselessly under threats of death, of persecution, of rapine and violence of every sort, Israel has not succumbed; and if he is dispersed over the whole world it is because the whole world should belong to him.
“It has been for a few [eighteen] centuries now that our learned men have been fighting against the Cross with courage and persistence which nothing can break. Our people is rising gradually and, with each day, its forces are growing. It is to us that this God of the day belongs, which was erected by Aaron in the wilderness, this golden calf, this universal deity of the epoch.
“When we become, at last, the sole possessors of all the gold to be found on earth, the true power will practically be transferred to our hands, and the promises made to Abraham will be fulfilled. Gold—is the greatest power on earth; it is might, reward, the instrument of every authority, it is all man, both fears and desires. This is the sole mystery, the most profound science of that spirit with the aid of which the entire world is ruled. This is what the future holds in store. Eighteen centuries have belonged to our enemies; this century and the following must belong to us, the People of Israel, and will be ours, without fail. Here, for the tenth time during a thousand years of cruel and incessant struggle with our enemies, have assembled at this cemetery; at the grave of the great Master, Caleb, the sainted Rabbi Simeon Ben Judah, the elect of each of the tribes of the Israelite people, in order to discuss and agree upon, the means of making use, in the interests of our cause, of all the tremendous mistakes and errors, which our enemies—the Christians—have not ceased to commit. Every time the new Sanhedrin (assembly) proclaimed and preached merciless warfare against our enemies, but not once during the past centuries did our forefathers succeed in concentrating in our hands such an enormous quantity of gold [and consequently of power] as the nineteenth century has given us. We are therefore able, without any senseless illusions, to flatter ourselves with the hope of attaining our goal before long, and we can look forward with assurance into the very eyes of the future.
“Persecutions and insults,—these sombre and tortuous times, which the people of Israel bore with heroic patience,—have fortunately come to an end, owing to the progress of civilization among the Christians, and this progress is the best shield under which we can hide and scheme, in order that we may cover quickly and decisively the last leg of that distance which divides us from our supreme aim. Let us cast a cursory glance at the economic situation of Europe and analyze the resources which fell to the Israelites from the beginning of the present century, owing to the concentration in their hands of the tremendous capital which is in their possesson at the present time. It turns out that in Paris, London, Vienna, Berlin, Amsterdam, Hamburg, Rome, Naples, etc. [and in all lands—the Rothschilds], that everywhere, the Israelites are the masters of the financial situation, being as they are possessors of many billions, not to mention localities of the second and third class where all the financial funds are in their hands and not mentioning that, without their direct influence, no financial operation, no work of any importance, could be carried out anywhere at any time. At present, all the emperors, kings and ruling princes are burdened with tremendous debts incurred in order to be able to maintain numerous standing armies [to sustain their tottering thrones]. The Bourse quotes and regulates these moneys, and we are the full masters of the Bourse in all the centres of the globe. The problem before us now is to facilitate even to a greater extent the means of contracting these loans and thus to become the sole managers of all valuables, after which the exploitation of all their railroads, mines, forests, large factories and industrial plants, as well as of all other (real property) including duties and taxes, will fall into our hands, as a security for the capital lent by us to the various States.
“Agriculture will forever remain the principal source of a country’s wealth. The possession of large plots of land will pave for us even a broader way to honors and will strengthen our influence (over the highest officials of the country). From this follows, that our efforts will be directed towards inducing our brethren in Israel to make large agricultural purchases. We must, therefore, do our utmost to break up large estates into small parcels, in order to be able to purchase them in the easiest and quickest way. Under the pretext of trying to help the working classes, it is necessary to oppress the large landowners with taxation in all its severity. When these possessions will thus gradually be transferred into our hands, the whole labor of the Christian proletariat will become for us a new source of tremendous profits. Since the Christian Church is one of our most dangerous enemies, we must work tirelessly to weaken its influence, and in order to accomplish this, it is necessary to use all our efforts to implant in the Christian intellectual class ideas of atheism, scepticism, dissension and to call forth religious disputes among the newly-formed groups and sects of Christendom.
“Logically, we must begin by depreciating the ministers of this religion. Let us declare open war on them, let us provoke suspicions on their devotion, on their private conduct, and by ridicule and persiflage we shall be right in the consideration attached to the state and the costume of the priest.
“Every war, every revolution, every political and religious upheaval brings nearer the moment when we shall attain the great end for which we have been striving so long. Commerce and speculation—these branches, most plentiful in their fruits,—must never be suffered to slip out of the hands of the Israelites.
“. . . and once these branches have become identified with us, we shall, through the flattery and perspicacity of our executives, know how to penetrate to the prime source of true influence and power. It is understood that we are concerned only with those pursuits that entail honors, power or privileges, for all those that require knowledge, labor or disagreeable conditions, these can and should be left to the Christians. The magistrature is an institution of prime importance for us. The legal profession develops most the faculty of civilization and initiates one furthest in the affairs of our natural enemies, the Christians, and it is through it that we can subject them to our mercy. Why should not the Jews become Ministers of Instruction when they have so often been Ministers of Finance? The Jews must also aspire to the rank of legislators with the object of abrogating the laws made by the Goim, faithless sinners, against the sons of Israel, the true believers, in their invariable attachment to the holy laws of Abraham.
“Moreover, on this point, our plan is nearing the most complete realization, for progress has nearly everywhere recognized and accorded to us the same civic rights as to Christians, but that which it is of importance to obtain, that which must be the object of our ceaseless efforts, is a law less severe on bankruptcy. We shall make of it a gold mine more rich than were ever the mines of California.
“Our people, in deciding upon one operation or another, must be guided by wisdom and tact, which are the distinguishing traits of its natural gifts. We must not remain passive to anything that may aid us in gaining a place of honor in society; philosophy, medicine, law, political economy—in other words, all branches of science, art, literature—represent a wide field where even our smallest successes, developing our abilities, will be of great benefit to our cause.
“These vocations are inseparable from speculation. Thus the production of a musical composition, even though it be very mediocre, will furnish to our co-religionists a plausible reason for elevating on a pedestal and surrounding with a halo the Jew who will be the author of it. As for the sciences, medicine and philosophy, they must equally be a part of our intellectual domain.
“To the physician are usually confided the most intimate secrets of the family and he, therefore, holds in his hands the health and life of our ancient enemies—the Christians. We are obliged to encourage matrimonial unions between Israelites and Christians, for the people of Israel, risking no loss whatsoever from such contact, will only gain from such unions.
“. . . The introduction of a certain quantity of impure blood into our God-chosen race will not corrupt it. Our daughters will furnish us with these marriages alliances with Christian families that possess influence and power. In exchange for the money that we give, it is just that we obtain influence on everything that surrounds us.
“Our relationship with the Christians will not make us deviate from the path we have always been following; on the contrary, with a certain degree of artfulness and cunning, this relationship will gradually make us full masters of their destinies. It is desirable, that the Israelites refrain from keeping concubines of our holy faith and rather select Christian girls for the part. The substitution of the simple formality of a contract before some civil power for the church ceremony is of the greatest importance to us, because on this condition Christian women will overflow our camp.—If gold is the first power on this earth, then the second power is undoubtedly the press. But of what significance is the latter without the former? Since we cannot realize all the above-stated aims without the assistance of the press, it is absolutely necessary that the management of all the newspapers and magazines of all the countries, be in our hands. The possession of gold, of the press and of sufficient means for the satisfaction of certain qualities of its soul, will make us masters of public opinion and will subjugate to us the masses.
“Following this method on every step of our way with a persistence which is one of our highest qualities, we will push the Christians aside and reduce their influence to zero. We will dictate to the world what it should believe, what it must revere or despise. It is possible that persons will be found who will arise against us; arming themselves, they will hurl insults and curses at us; but the docile, ignorant masses will harken to us and will take our part. Once we become absolute masters of the press, we will easily be able to refashion the ideas of honor, of virtue, of faithfulness—and to deal the first blow to the family-conception which is considered to this day as the most sacred institution and which must be reduced to a state of decay. We shall then be able to uproot the belief in that which our enemies, the Christians, shall have worshipped until that time and instead of that, having brought up the army in a spirit of infatuation with the various passions, we shall openly declare war upon everything that the gentiles are at present revering and worshipping.
“May all this be understood and noted, and let every child of Israel become imbued with its true principles. Then our might will grow like a gigantic tree the branches of which will bear fruits, known as riches, pleasure, power.
“. . . as a compensation for that hideous condition which for long centuries has been the unique lot of the people of Israel.
“When one of us makes a step forward let the next one follow him. If his foot slips let his co-religionists hasten to support him. If an Israelite is trapped by the court of the country in which he resides, his brethren in faith should use all their efforts to get him out of trouble or to help him otherwise, but on the condition that the Israelite in question acted according to the laws which Israel observes strictly and guards for so many centuries, and the precepts of our religion.
“Our people is conservative, faithful to the religious ceremonies and usages which our ancestors have bequeathed to us.
“It is very important for us to pretend to be expounders and protagonists of social questions prevalent at the time in a country, especially of those whose aim it is to better the fate of the workingman; but, in reality, our efforts must gravitate towards possession and rule over the movements of public opinion.
“The blindness of the masses and the tendency of their leaders to yield to oratory, as empty as it is loud, make them easy prey for us and a double weapon for our popularity and credit. With the aid of oratory, our speakers will be able to make people believe our artificial enthusiasm which Christians usually attain through the medium of genuine sentiment.
“It is necessary, to support as much as possible, the Proletariat and to subjugate it to those in charge of the finances. Acting in this manner, it will be for us to incite the masses, whenever we shall need them. We will use them as weapons for upheavals and revolutions and each of these catastrophes will move our cause forward with gigantic strides and will bring us, with a quick pace, nearer our goal—to reign over the entire world, as it was promised by our Father Abraham.”
[For the sake of ilustration, the following extracts, out of many that might be selected, are taken from the Goedsche-Retcliffe novel which were afterwards elaborated and presented as facts.]
first stage of the lie—the novelette
If we will be supreme in the stock exchange, we will attain the same supremacy in the governments. Therefore it is necessary to facilitate loans in order to get them into our hands all the more. Wherever possible, we must take in exchange for capital, mortgages on railroads, taxes, mines, regalias (?) and domains. (Page 32.)
Ownership of land is always the iron-clad, everlasting possession of every country. This in itself gives power, respect and influence. Therefore the Jews should secure the possibility of acquiring real estate. Therefore it is necessary to facilitate the loans on land. The more we will help the breaking up of estates, the more easily they will fall into our hands. (Page 33.)
Industry the power of the burgher, which hinders the Jewish nation must be paralyzed even as agriculture. (Page 34.)
The natural enemy of the Jews is the Christian Church. Therefore we must try to humiliate it, we must instil into it free-thinking, scepticism, and conflicts. Therefore we will first of all start a war on the clergy, we will try to arouse suspicion against it and humiliate it. Let our brethren strive for the abolition of armed force. . . . Not the sword, but reason and money must rule. (Page 35.)
Our nation is conservative to its very root, and clings fast to the old. But our interests demand that we participate, or, rather, direct the movements of nations, It is indisputable that ours is a time of many reforms, whose main purpose is the amelioration of the material condition of the needy classes. But for this the propertied classes must sacrifice their capital. Capital is in the hands of the Jews. Therefore, they must outwardly take part in the movement and try to divert it from social and political reforms. The masses themselves are blind and foolish and permit the shouters to rule over them. . . . The instability of the foundation increases our er and our influence. Therefore the support of every kind of revolution increases our capital and brings us nearer to our goal. (Pages 36–37.)
Of what value are all the opinions and advice given here without the aid of the press? We will attain our aim only when the press will be in our hands. Our people must direct the daily publications. . . . We need great political newspapers which will mold public opinion—criticism, the literature of the street and the stage. In this way we will crowd out the Christians step by step, and will dictate to the world what it should believe in, what it should respect and what it should curse. We will repeat the sorrowful cry of Israel and the complaints against the persecutions which are directed against us. . . . With the press in our hands we can turn wrong into right, dishonesty into honesty. We can shake all foundations and separate families. We can destroy faith in all that our enemies believed until now. We can ruin credits and arouse passions. We can declare war; we can give fame or disgrace. We can uplift or ruin talent. (Page 43.)
[The following are parallel extracts from the imaginary Rabbi's speech vouched for by the author of the novelette as fact a number of years later.]
second stage of the lie—“the rabbis speech”
When we become at last the sole possessors of all the gold to be found on earth, the power will practically be transferred to our hands, and the promises made to Abraham will be fulfilled. Gold—is the greatest power on earth, it is might, reward, the instrument of every authority, it is all man, both fears and desires. . . . The problem before us now is to facilitate even to a greater extent the means of contracting these loans and thus to become the sole managers of all the valuables, after which the exploitation of all their railroads, mines, forests, large factories and industrial plants, as well as of all other real property, including duties and taxes, will fall into our hands, as a security for the capital lent to us by the various states.
Agriculture will forever remain the principal source of a country’s wealth. The possession of large plots of land will pave for us even a broader way to honors and will strengthen our influence over the highest officials of the country. From this follows, that our efforts will be directed towards inducing our brethren in Israel to make large agricultural purchases. We must, therefore, do our utmost to break up large estates into small parcels, in order to be able to purchase them in the easiest and quickest way. Under the pretext of trying to help the working classes, it is necessary to oppress the large landowners with taxation in all its severity. When these possessions will thus gradually be transferred in our hands, the whole labor of the Christian proletariat will become for us a new source of tremendous profits.
Commerce and speculation—these branches, most plentiful in their fruits,—must never be suffered to slip out of the hands of the Israelites,—with this object in view the pros of Israel must direct its ambition towards those high offices of authority which have the power to distribute honors and esteem.
Since the Christian Church is one of our most dangerous enemies, we must work tirelessly to weaken its influence, and in order to accomplish this, it is necessary to use all our efforts to implant in the Christian intellectual class ideas of Atheism, scepticism, dissension and to call forth religious disputes among the newly-formed groups and sects of Christendom.
It is very important for us to pretend to be expounders and protagonists of social questions prevalent at the time in a country, especially of those whose aim it is to better the fate of the workingman; but, in reality, our efforts must gravitate towards possession and rule over the movements of public opinion.
The blindness of the masses and the tendency of their leaders to fall for oratory as empty as it is loud, will make them easy prey for us and a double weapon for our popularity and credit. With the aid of oratery, our speakers will be able to make people believe our artificial enthusiasm which Christians usually attain through genuine sentiment. . . .
Once we become absolute masters of the press, we will easily be able to refashion the ideas of honor, of virtue, of faithfulness—and to deal the first blow to the family-conception which is considered to this day as the most sacred institution and which must be reduced to a state of decay. We shall then be able to uproot the belief in that which our enemies, the Christians, shall have worshipped until that time and instead of that, having brought up the army in a spirit of infatuation with the various passions, we shall openly declare war upon everything which the Gentiles are at present revering and worshipping. . . .
[The following are extracts from the new version of the “protocols” introduced by Nilus in 1905, showing the different stages of the forgery.]
third stage of the lie—“the protocols”[2]
All the wheels of the government mechanism are driven by the motor which is in our hands, and that motor is—gold. (Prot. 5.)
To make it possible for liberty definitely to disintegrate and ruin Gentile society, industry must be placed upon a speculative basis. The result will be that all products extracted from industry from the soil will not remain in their hands but will pass through speculation into our possession. (Prot. 4.)
The aristocracy of the Gentiles as a political force has passed away. . . . But as owners of land, they are harmful to us in that they are independent in their sources of livelihood. Therefore at all costs we must deprive them of their land. The best means to attain this is to increase land taxes and mortgage indebtedness. These measures will keep land ownership in a state of unconditional subordination. (Prot. 6.)
See second quotation above.
At the same time it is necessary to encourage trade and industry vigorously and especially speculation, the function of which is to act as a counterpoise to industry. . . . It is necessary for industry to deplete the land both of laborers and capital, and, through speculation, transfer all the money of the world into our hands, thereby throwing the Gentiles into the ranks of the proletariat. (Prot. 6.)
It is for this reason that we must undermine faith, eradicate from the minds of the Gentiles the very principle of God and soul and replace these conceptions by mathematical calculations and material desires. (Prot. 4.)
We have taken good care long ago to discredit the Gentile clergy and thereby to destroy their mission, which at present might hamper us considerably. Their influence over people diminishes daily. (Prot. 17.)
It is indispensible for our purposes that, as far as possible, wars should bring no territorial advantages. This will shift war to an economic footing and nations will perceive the strength of our superiority in the aid we render. Such a condition of affairs will place both sides under the control of our international agents with their million eyes, whose vision is unhampered by any frontiers. (Prot. 2.)
We will represent ourselves as the saviors of the laboring classes who have come to liberate them from this oppression by suggesting that they join our army of socialists, anarchists, communists, to whom we always extend our help under the guise of the fraternal principles of the universal solidarity of our social masonry. . . . (Prot. 3.)
We will adopt for ourselves the liberal side of all parties and all movements and provide orators who will talk so much that they will tire the people with their speeches until they turn from orators in disgust. (Prot. 5.)
We shall handle the press in the following manner . . . to end of Protocol 12.
- ↑ NOTE. (Toward the end of the last century there appeared a book in London by Retcliffe entitled “A Review of Political and Historical Events During the Past Ten Years.” This work was translated into French. The French periodical press, without waiting for the complete translation of the book, reproduced certain parts of it because they were of special interest. Thus the French newspapers and magazines published translations from the English of an intensely interesting speech, most edifying for Russia (from the Hebrew), delivered by one of the Rabbis, THE AUTHENTICITY OF WHICH SPEECH IS VOUCHED FOR BY THE ABOVE-MENTIONED AUTHOR. This inimitable gem must in the eyes of Russians assume all the more importance since it is brought out by that “highly civilized” humane and practical country, England, which has given protection to the Russian Jews against the unsuccessfully invented persecutions on the part of the Russian government and people. This monstrous document was sent at the time in printed form, in the French language, to the editorial office of the Odessa newspaper “Novorosisk Telegraph” for those who might want to examine the accuracy of the translation published in No. 4996 of that newspaper, dated January 15, 1891, and reprinted in No. 21 of the Petersburg newspaper “Znamya,” dated January 22, 1904. THE SPEECH RELATES TO THE TIME OF SANHEDRIN OF 1869.)
- ↑ These extracts are taken from “The Protocols of the Wise Men of Zion,” published by the Beckwith Company, New York, 1920.