[BroJoeK]

Hostage: "There were many camps where deaths were taking place from horrible conditions and forced labor."

Not so much in 1939, certainly nothing remotely approaching the millions killed in death camps during the war.

In 1939, the basic Nazi idea was to encourage Jews to emigrate to other countries, for example, Palestine:

"Nazi bureaucrats also developed plans to deport Europe's Jews to Siberia.[77]
Palestine was the only location to which any Nazi relocation plan succeeded in producing significant results, via an agreement begun in 1933 between the Zionist Federation of Germany (die Zionistische Vereinigung für Deutschland) and the Nazi government, the Haavara Agreement.
This agreement resulted in the transfer of about 60,000 German Jews and $100 million from Germany to Palestine, up until the outbreak of World War II.[78]"

Yes, there were concentration camps in 1939, but Krystallnacht (November 1938) is the more typical experience:

"The death toll is assumed to be much higher than the official number of 91 dead.[72]
30,000 were sent to concentration camps, including Dachau, Sachsenhausen, Buchenwald, and Oranienburg,[74] where they were kept for several weeks, and released when they could either prove that they were about to emigrate in the near future, or transferred their property to the Nazis.[75]"

Bottom line: during the 1930s life for Jews in Nazi Germany became increasingly intolerable, and every Jew who could, eventually chose to emigrate, most to nearby countries like Holland & France.
Sadly, as it turned out, that was not far enough away to escape the coming Holocaust.

Hostage: "Hitler explained the camps were necessary to protect Jews and others from anti-semitic pogroms in the East and also from angry Germans who felt betrayed by Jewish bankers in WW I."

Sorry, FRiend, but I think you are confused about this, and need to spend some serious study time learning real facts of history.

[Hostage]

That quote of Hitler about being protective of the Jews was indeed written in magazines of the time. There were other quotes as well by Hitler that were menacing and clearly meant as warnings for Jews to leave or face consequences.

But in certain instances when Hitler was interviewed and asked about the purpose of the camps, he commented they were for their protection.

[RobbyS]

The British had discouraged Jewish immigration into the Palestinian mandate, in part because of the romantic attachment of many British officers to the Arabs for their fighting spirit. Jews were despised as bankers, shopkeepers and intellectuals. Few of us have anything like a clear picture of how the world viewed Jews in 1940. Indeed, this was generally not much different from the the view of ordinary Nazi party member, who only wished to be rid of German Jews and to take their jobs and property.