Considering that Japan was an ally of Nazi Germany, how did Adolf Hitler view Japanese culture and people?

by bluerobot27
VanillaFlavoredCoke

I'm not at all qualifed to give you a great answer, but I'm a fairly regular reader of this subreddit. Similar questions to yours have been asked before and I think I can point you in the right direction.

A year ago, another user asked the question How aware was Japan of Hitler's idea of an Aryan master race? and /u/Subs-man give a great, in-depth answer. He explained that in Mein Kampf, Hitler regarded the Japanese as a valuable ally against "international Jewry."

The Germans coined the term Ehrenarier which translates to "honorary aryan." Many individuals of jewish descent were given this status because they were deemed valuable to the country, the war, or for political reasons. Hitler also give this title to the entire Japanese people because of their racial integrity. In The Political Testament of Adolf Hitler, he wrote:

Its desire to remain racially pure is a proof of the vitality and good health of a race. 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.

Hitler also seemed to admire the people and culture of Japan from a young age. /u/Subs-man talks a little about this. There's also a good discussion you should check out in the comments.

Some sources:

The first source is to Wikipedia, but it will give you a nice overview of the term. From what I can tell the second source above is a good translation of The Political Testament.

To the mods, I noticed there were a few deleted comments and I was familiar with this question. Please inform me if I broke any rules.

ParkSungJun

I answered this a bit here.