Historian

There were a number of strong pre - war Arab - Nazi organizations — the Iron Shirts (led by Fakhri al-Barudi of the National Bloc, member of the Syrian Parliament to this day); the League for National Action (headed by Abu al-Huda al-Yafi, Dr. Zaki al-Jabi and others); the An - Nadi al-Arabi Club of Damascus (headed by Dr. Said Abd al-Fattah al-Imam);  the “Councils for the Defence of Arab Palestine” (headed by well - known pro - Nazi leaders, such as Nabih al-Azma, Adil Arslan and others); the “Syrian National Party” (led by the Fascist Anton Saada, who escaped during the war to the Germans and was sent by them to the Argentine). The National Bloc, the principal party in Syria, and more particularly the Istiqlal group (headed by Shukri al - Kuwatli, now President of the Syrian Republic) had for many years been openly pro-Nazi.  Before the war, Baldur von Schirach , leader of the Hitlerjugend, visited Syria on a special mission and established close contact with these circles ...