While only certain Jewish individuals were granted the status, the term was ascribed to the entire
Japanese people. Adolf Hitler bestowed the title upon the Japanese following the
Anti-Comintern Pact on
Communism (signed in 1936), and it seemed that they were granted the status not simply for economic, military, or political reasons, but more so because of their racial integrity. In
The Political Testament of Adolf Hitler, Hitler stated,
Pride in one's own race – and that does not imply contempt for other races – is also a normal and healthy sentiment. I have never regarded the Chinese or the Japanese as being inferior to ourselves. They belong to ancient civilizations, and I admit freely that their past history is superior to our own. They have the right to be proud of their past, just as we have the right to be proud of the civilization to which we belong. Indeed, I believe the more steadfast the Chinese and the Japanese remain in their pride of race, the easier I shall find it to get on with them.
[5]
Hitler had supported Japan as early as 1904, when during the
Russo-Japanese War it had defeated the Russians, which he considered a defeat for
Austrian Slavism.
[6][7] He made a number of other statements expressing his respect and admiration for the Japanese in his book
Mein Kampf.
[8][9]
Although of a different race, the Japanese were considered by Nazi ideologists such as Himmler as having similar enough qualities with German-Nordic blood to warrant an alliance. Himmler, who possessed a great interest in, and was influenced by, the anthropology, philosophies and pantheistic religions of East Asia, mentioned how his friend
Hiroshi Ōshima, the
Japanese Ambassador to Germany, believed that the noble castes in Japan, the
Daimyo and the
Samurai, were descended from gods of celestial origin, which was similar to Himmler's own belief that "the Nordic race did not evolve, but came directly down from heaven to settle on the
Atlantic continent."
[10]