Nazi Germany racial policy Flashcards
(27 cards)
Origins of anti semitism
Hitlers obsessive hatred of Jews was perhaps most dominant and consistent theme of political career- translation of such ideas into actual policy lead to racial laws, government inspired violence and the execution of the genocide policy- culminated into Holocaust Major feature of Nazi ideology= Volksgemeinschaft- national community of Germans- some seen as genetic or moral threats to German Volk- groups excluded and scapegoated Hitler and other Nazi ideologists believed in ‘eugenics’- idea human race could be improved by selective breeding- beleived racial/ moral degeneration lost Germany WW1- wanted to create ‘pure’ Aryan race to rule over other nations- not at odds w/ other countries at this point US already carrying out sterilisation for eugenics
Who were outsiders -ideological/ biological
Ideological opponents- communists= many sent to early concentration camps in 1933- then became used as term to describe anyone who didn’t politically accept the regime- included a broad range of political/ ideological opponents- eg Pastor Neimoller, General Btauffenberg, Georg Elser, Galen Biologically inferior- Covered all races that according to the Nazis were ‘inferior’ eg gypsies Slavs and Jews- also included those mentally and physically disabled
Opposition -biological p2
biologically inferior- more-July 1933- ‘The Law for the Prevention of Hereditary Diseased Offspring’ - allowed for compulsory sterilisation of those with hereditary conditions eg schizophrenia, hereditary blindness and deafness - 35,000 over 12 yrs- 1939 Hitler himself initiated idea for using euthanasia for children with severe disabilities (Down’s syndrome/ cerebral palsy) -no specific law but patients killed in asylums under name ‘operation T4’- 70,000 gassed 1940-41
opposition- asocials
- Covered anyone viewed as unacceptable- included alcoholics, prostitutes, criminals, tramps and workshy Those viewed as ‘orderly’ but workshy rounded up and put into compulsory labour force Those viewed as ‘disorderly’= imprisoned- sometimes sterilised and experimented on Homosexuals also classed as asocials- seen as breaking laws of nature- undermining Nazi family values 1936- Reich Central Office for Combating of Homosexuality and Abortion- Between 10,000 and 15,000 homosexuals imprisoned- forced to wear pink triangles- lesbians generally not persecuted- can still have children and ‘do part’
Exclusion of Jews
Behind prejudice= idea that Jews were supposedly responsible for having Christ killed- can be traced back to medieval Europe- Jews being used as scapegoat= long established practice-but in 1900s more defined antisemitism-in 1900 a number of specifically anti semetic volkisch parities were winning seats in Reichstag, idea Jews were different in appearance/ customs/ religion from other Europeans- disorientation as rapid industrialist and urbanisation took place- Jews were immigrants from Eastern Europe had different customs/ traditions, also despite many Jews= impoverished- view was they were well off many Jews were successful as financers and lawyers and in other professions- 1933- around 500,000 Jews in Germany- less than 1% but made up 16% lawyers, 10% doctors and 5% writers and editors- Nazis sought to exclude for racial and economic reasons- source of envy Abundant evidence for Hitler’s antisemitism- Jan 1933 election campaign and mein Kampf
antisemitism in 1919-33
Right wing racist volkisch nationalism clearly apparent before 1914- further developed after WW1- - stab in back myth arose- humiliation of Verssailes Treaty and political/ economic weakenesses of Weimar Republic - in this environment Hitler able to exploit hostility toward Jews - turn it into racial ideology of hatred- shaped much of political philosophy- without his commitment to attack Jews, charismatic skills as political leader seems unlikely anti-semitism would have become such an integral part of Nazi movement- 37.3% voted for Nazis in July 1932- bt vast majority motivated by unemployment, collapse of agricultural prices and fear of communism- 1934 survey in reasons why people supported Nazis- over 60% didn’t mention antisemitism
Gradualism 1933-39
Boycotts- way of excluding Jews economically- national boycott of Jewish shops and businesses April 1933- eg on Jewish shopkeepers, lawyers or doctors- Stormtroopers stood guard outside premises- intimidate- those not deterred- insulted, threatened, photographed- put in newspapers- boycott only lasted a day- vast majority not deterred but start of officialy sanctioned persecution Nazi approach to anti semitism was gradualist- early moves against Jews gave no suggestion to end result- Once dictatorship was well established in 1934- futility of opposition= apparent to show sympathy for or to protect Jews was to risk freedom or life
Gradualism- legal discrimination
Hitler aware public more likely to follow him if persecution of minorities was gradual- cloaked in legality- explains large no. individual laws 1933-39- overall aim= deprive Jews of livelihood, property, citizenship and dignity and prevent mixing with Aryans- Jews dismissed from professions from start of Hitler’s reign 7
Gradualism- legal discrimination p2
April- Law for Restoration of the Professional Civil Service- excluded Jews from Civil Service- extended to uni lecturers 6 May- also for other positions eg jurors or commercial judges- 7 April - law on 25 April ‘against overcrowding of German schools’ limited no. school spaces for Jewish children- Non- Aryans and anyone married to them= banned from all gov posts- 28 Sept 29 Sept- banned from all cultural and entertainment enterprises, early Oct ‘National Press Law’- no working in Press- can’t spread views
leading up to Nuremberg laws
1934- lull- 1935 more persecution at street level SOPADE reports suggests there was many local initiatives where towns denied entry to Jews or banned them from public spaces eg swimming pools. HJ, SA and Nazi party radicals played part in organising anti-Jewish violence and boycotts backed by anti Nazi propoganda- by mid May shops openly attacked in Munich by July Jews being attacked on streets in Berlin- Nazi party became concerned by negative public opinion, reports in foreign press and economy- felt they needed to satisfy party activists- result= Nuremberg Laws
Nuremberg Laws
nuremberg Laws of 15-18 Sept ruled that 1) Jews now= subjects not citizens - therefore entitled only to limited state protection 2) Marriages and sexual relations between Jews and Aryans= banned. Jews could not employ female German citizens under 45 3) couples wanting to marry had to undergo medical examinations to get permission to do so- looked at hereditary conditions/ and racial background 4) Swastika became official German flag- Jews banned from flying it - so quickly produced- had to be supplemented by further decrees- Decree of 14 November defined who exactly was a ‘Jew’- anyone who had at least 3 Jewish grandparents or who had 2 but was married to a Jew or belonged to the Jewish religion half Jews still discriminated against but less so than full Jews- degree of 21 December closed loopholes that allowed Jews to be proffesors, teachers, doctors, lawyers and notaries
Propaganda- scapegoat
Lack of clarity on policy on Jews even after 1935- 1938 began to change- 26 April 1938- decree ruled Jews (and anyone married to a Jew had to register all their possessions- April- November 1938 alone- 4000 Jewish businesses confiscated by government- suggests method not oppurtunitism- 7 Nov 1938- German diplomat Ernst Von Rath assasinated in Paris by Herschel Grynszpan- parents were among 17,000 Polish Jews ejected by Germany on 28 Oct- at time Goebbels had fallen from grace with Hitler for affair- used assasination to gain new favour w/ Fuhrer- new wave of anti-semitic violence
Kristallnacht
9-10 Nov 1938- jewish business premises, homes and synagogues were burned down or sacked- Jews beaten up, close to 100 killed- between 20,000 and 30,000 sent to concentration camps- in public Hitler kept quiet about pogrom (Russian- organised massacre of Jews)- as propaganda= failure- vast majority of public subdued- not speaking out but not active support- shows propaganda still not entirely effective But important for excluding Jews from economy - insurance money paid out for Jewish businesses was confiscated or premises seized after repairs had been done- Surviving Jewish businesses= liquidated or transferred to state- Goring imposed collective fine on Jews of 1 billion marks for the assasination and ‘causing’ Kristallnacht
Emigration
Before Kristallnacht the Nazi leadership had taken steps to encourage German Jews to emigrate- August 1933- Jewish agency for palestine which sponsored Jewish immigration for the region made series of agreements w/ german economic industry under ‘Haavara Agreements’- if German Jews left for Palestine they would pay money into a Jewish trust company- once in palestine immigrant would get half money back in Palestine pounds- other half used by Jewish Agency to buy German goods, beniffiting Jewish economy- but many couldn’t leave eg didn’t have enough money- excluded from economy - normally could not take savings but in interest of financial gain- Nazis willing to bend rules
Effect of Kristallnacht on emigration
After Kristallnacht- gov stepped up to forced emigration- by time of Kristallnacht about 150,000 Jews had already emigrated- also Anschluss- union w/ Austria meant forced emigration had begun in Austria which had large Jewish population- key player= Adolf Eichmann- responsible for organising forced emigration of over 100,000 Austrian Jews- between Anschluss and outbreak of WW2 another 150,000 German Jews deported before war
Other racial views- Gypsies
Other main racial group= Gypsies- or Sinti and Roma as they present themselves-had long been discriminated against- considered racial outsiders- settled people looked upon travelling lifestyle with suspicion - didn’t play as major a role in economy as Jews but accused of crime, laziness and lack of hygeine- many local authorities 1935/ 36 demanded they all be sent to Dachau- At first police enforced existed laws- sent limited no. to concentration camps- but 1935-39 special Gypsy camps set up in major cities - not quite concentration camps but life regimented and restricted
Gypsies p2
October 1938- government set up a ‘Reich Central Headquarters to Combat the Gypsy Pest’- the Kripo- criminal police- applied their existing powers to deal with ‘asocials’ and ‘work shy’ - numbers on Gypsies sent to concentration camps = relatively small but Nazis registered and closely supervised them - actions against them escalated over time- decrees supplementing the Nuremberg Laws on 14 Nov 1935 extended marriage laws to Gypsies and Black people- by March 1939- most Gypsies forced to undergo racial examinations and in July- Kripo were told in war they would be sent to concentration camps- campaign against Gypsies stepped up Austria first in Austria 1938 then in Germany June 1939 when Kripo ordered to arrest 2000 men and 1000 women- send to concentration camps
Ghettos
Germany’s victory over Poland autumn 1939 meant ‘responsibility’ for around 3 million more Jews, also beginning of European war made it hard for forced emigration of Jews to independent countries- strain on food supplies/ transportation- so ghettos eg warsaw, Krakow or Lublin . The Germans established at least 1,143 ghettos in the occupied eastern territories. Overcrowded- poor conditions- Warsaw, more than 400,000 Jews were crowded into an area of 1.3 square miles. Would be put to hard labour- many left ghettos during day to work and returned for curfews
Change of tactics- Einsatzgruppen
Himmler sent four specially trained SS units called “Einsatzgruppen battalions” into German occupied territory - during winter of 1941-42 estimated they killed 700,000 Jews in western Russia Victims were taken to deserted areas where they were made to dig their own graves and shot. When the SS ran out of bullets they sometimes killed their victims using flamethrowers.
Lead up to final solution
In 1939, Germany invaded Poland which had a much larger population of 3 million Jews. In 1941, Germany invaded Russia which had a population of 5 million Jews. Evident usual tactics eg ghettos/ Einsatzgruppen were becoming inefficient- eg too many bullets lost during wartime, too many to hold in one place- uncertainty and debate over exactly when exactly it was decided to launch genocide- options probably discussed Autumn 1941- but only agreed as a result of the Wannsee Conference
Wannsee conference
20 January 1942- 15 leading Nazis, representing leading offices within the Third Reich met in suburbs of Wannsee- No more than a few hours- meeting chaired by Reinhard Heydrich, the most senior Nazi present, and deputy to Himmer in the SS. Organised by Eichmann- outlined grim details of plan to use gas to kill Europe’s 11 million Jews But decision already made before this- logistics had been started by March Jews already being sent to camps- plans couldn’t have started in January- also not anyone senior enough at conference
Decisions made at Wannsee-who was Jewish
Decision on who was Jewish- decided if 2 of the person’s grandparents were Jewish then they were Jewish- but if only 1 grandparent was Jewish could be classed as German 1940- before conference- all Jews had to have passports stamped with ‘J’ and had to wear the yellow star of David on coat
how was the final solution going to be organised
Death camps all in Poland- relatively central but not in Germany- knew there would be a reaction Conditions in the ghettos designed to be so bad that many die whilst the rest would be willing to leave these areas in the hope of better conditions Remaining Jews sent to ‘resettlement areas’ in the East- on arrival the Jews would go through a process called ‘selection’ - mothers, children, the old and sick would be sent straight to ‘showers’- gas chambers Many death camps also had labour camps- young and fit/ those with trade would be sent through process called destruction through work- worked to death
How did they get Jews to leave ghettos
Deception- Jews told they were going to ‘resettlement areas’ in the East- in some Ghettos Jews had to purchase own train tickets- told to bring tools of their trade and pots and pans new arrivals- given postcards to send to friends- never given- at Auschwitz calmed down by a Jewish orchestra playing classical music, at Auschwitz trains pulled up to mock up of normal station
