The Nazi Attack on German Jews Begins

Holocaust PowerPoint #4

Nazi Beliefs

• (1) Germany had lost World War I because Jews and Communists undermined morale

• (2) They were racists who believed inferior races threatened the Volk’s blood line

• (3) Jews were not German; they were only “guests”

• (4) The feeble-minded and deformed must be prevented from producing more of their kind

• (5) Traditional religious teaching about duty to God and brotherhood weakened the nation

• (6) They were anxious to put their beliefs into law

Defining Who was Jewish• The Nazi newspaper Der

Sturmer (The Attacker) reported stereotypes of Jews such as: they were repulsive, fat men who tried to lure Aryan children into their cars; rich bankers, traitors, and trade union leaders

• Jews dressed, looked, and acted like any other German

• This similarity caused a problem for the Nazis in deciding who was Jewish

• In the early days, Nazis were not sure how to solve problems like mixed marriages and tracing ancestry

• Worked out the complicated formula in The Nuremberg Laws of 1935– Jews and Mischlenges (mongrels or mixed

bloods) were those who had practiced Judaism, had Jewish grandparents, or were married to Jews

Right: A complicatedchart detailing the Nuremberg Laws of1935.

The Nuremberg Laws• Law passed on September 15, 1935

– “The Law for Protection of German Blood and German Honor”

• Marriages between Jews and citizens of Germany or related blood are forbidden

• Jews are not permitted to display the German flag• Jews may not employ in their households female

citizens of German or related blood under 45 years– “The Reich Citizenship Law”

• A citizen of the Reich is only that subject of German or related blood who proves by his conduct that he is ready and able to serve the German people and the Reich faithfully

• Only the full citizen of the Reich enjoys full political rights

• A Jew cannot be a citizen of the Reich• Jews cannot vote or hold public office

Restrictions Begin

• All non-Aryan government officials were to retire

• All Jewish newspaper workers were fired

• Jews expelled from the guilds of musicians, writers, and artists

• Businesses pressured to fire Jewish executives

• Companies and banks owned by Jews were hit by SA-sponsored boycotts

Restrictions continued…

• April 1933 “The Law Against Overcrowding of German Schools” was issued to separate Jews from Aryan school children

• By 1938, Jews were no longer allowed to use swimming pools

• SA or SS would stand outside a Jewish shop to warn patrons

1936 Olympics• The 1936 Olympic games were

being held in Berlin• Hitler did not want the foreign

press writing vicious truths about his Jewish policy

• During the games, the only indication of Nazi hatred for “subhumans” was Hitler’s snubbing of black athletes.

• After the foreign games were gone, gangs of young bullies returned to beating up helpless Jews

A Dutch poster protestingthe 1936 Olympics

Austria• Hitler wanted to expand into

Austria• He sent Nazis into Austria to create

enthusiasm for the union (Anschluss) of the two countries.

• About 90 percent of Austrians favored uniting with Germany

• This was tragic for Austrian Jews, where there was already long standing Anti-Semitism– To show their support for Hitler,

Austrians outdid the Germans in persecuting Jews

• Dragged from homes and shops, forced to clean latrines, sidewalks, and grafitti

– Concentration camp was established in Mauthausen

This woman was reducedto tears when the Austriansdecided to follow Hitler.

Kristallnacht“Night of Broken Glass”

• In 1938 a German-born Jew killed Ernst vom Rath when he learned his family was being deported to Poland– Goebbels used to event to justify

Kristallnacht• November 9, 1938 became known as

Kristallnacht– Jewish property was destroyed or

damaged and more than 90 Jews were killed

– Police ordered not to interfere as mobs smashed, looted, and burned stores, synagogues, and homes

– Estimated $400 million worth of damage– Because this was the result of German

“righteous indignation,” the Jews had to pay to repair everything as punishment for Rath’s murder

• In January of 1939, all Jewish shops were closed.

Herschel Grynszpan was17 years old when he killedErnest vom Rath, a German

embassy official, in retaliationfor his family’s deportation

to Poland.

• In 1933 there were about 700,000 Jews in Germany and Austria.

• In 1938 and 1939, 403,000 were left.• In 1940, the U.S. embassy in Berlin had

248,000 immigration applications on file– The U.S. quota allowed on 27,000 Germans a

year into the country.

Left: An example of some of the physical damage done to Jewish businesses on Nov. 9, 1938, now called Krystallnacht.