Strangely enough, the idea of corralling Jews on Madagascar was nothing new. The plan was first proposed in 1885 by the German scholar Paul de Lagarde, whose writings were a major influence on Hitler. It was later touted by a wide range of politicians and anti-Semitic figures across Europe, some of whom subscribed to the erroneous belief that the Jews were the ancestors<span> of the island’s Malagasy natives</span>
The Madagascar Plan was a plan of Nazi Germany that suggested the relocation of European Jews to the island of Madagascar. This was planned to take place after conquering France, due to the fact that Madagascar was part of France at that time.
The plan never took place for two main reasons. In order for the plan to be conducted, Germany needed to be able to control the naval forces of Great Britain, which never happened. Moreover, the program was abandoned in favour of what is called the "Final Solution," which was the murder of all Jews in Europe.
