Racial policy of Nazi Germany

Racial policy of Nazi Germany originated as the Dolchstoßlegende ("betrayal legend") of disgruntled WW I German nationalists who blamed non-Germans for the loss of the war. The Nazis exploited these sentiments and later molded them into the Nuremberg Laws.

1933 to 1939

Nazi racial policy changed extensively in the years between 1933 and 1939. The Nazi Party became increasingly extreme in its treatment of the minorities of Germany, particularly Jews.

Related Topics:
1933 - 1939 - Nazi Party - Germany - Jew

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Between 1933 and 1934, Nazi policy was fairly moderate, not wishing to scare off voters or moderately-minded politicians. Jews had been disliked for years before, and the Nazi Party used this anger to gain votes. They blamed poverty, unemployment, and the loss of World War I all on the Jews. German woes were largely due to the effects of the Treaty of Versailles designed to secure the position of Britain and France as Europe's only imperial powers. In 1933, persecution of the Jews became active Nazi policy, but laws were not as rigorously obeyed and were not as devastating as in later years.

Related Topics:
1933 - 1934 - World War I - Treaty of Versailles

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On April 1, 1933, Jewish doctors, lawyers, and stores were boycotted. Only six days later, the Law for the Restoration of the Professional Civil Service was passed, banning Jews from government jobs. These laws meant that Jews were now indirectly and directly dissuaded or banned from privileged and superior positions reserved for "Aryan" Germans. From then on, Jews were forced to work at more menial positions, beneath other non-Jews.

Related Topics:
April 1 - 1933 - Law for the Restoration of the Professional Civil Service

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On August 2, 1934, President Paul von Hindenburg died. No new President was selected; instead the powers of the Chancellor and President were combined. This change, and a tame government with no opposition parties, allowed Hitler totalitarian control of law-making. The army also swore an oath of loyalty personally to the Führer, giving Hitler complete power over the army.

Related Topics:
August 2 - 1934 - Paul von Hindenburg - Hitler - Führer

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The Nuremberg Laws

However, between 1935 and 1936, persecution of the Jews increased apace. In May 1935, Jews were forbidden to join the Wehrmacht (the army), and in the summer of the same year, anti-Jewish propaganda appeared in Nazi-German shops and restaurants. The Nuremberg Laws were passed around the time of the great Nazi rallies at Nuremberg; on September 15 1935 the "Law for the Protection of German Blood and Honor" was passed, preventing marriage between any Jew and non-Jew. At the same time, the "Reich Citizenship Law" was passed and was reinforced in November by a decree, stating that all Jews, even quarter- and half-Jews, were no longer citizens of their own country (their official title became "subjects of the state"). This meant that they had no basic citizens' rights, e.g., the right to vote. This removal of basic citizens' rights allowed harsher laws to be passed in the future against Jews. The drafting of the Nuremberg Laws is often attributed to Hans Globke. Globke had studied British attempts to 'order' its 'empire' by creating hierarchial social orders.

Related Topics:
May - 1935 - Wehrmacht - September 15 - Hans Globke

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In 1936, Jews were banned from all professional jobs, effectively preventing them having any influence in education, sex, politics, higher education, and industry. There was now nothing to stop the anti-Jewish actions that spread across the Nazi-German economy.

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After the "Night of the Long Knives," the SS became the dominant policing power in Germany. Hermann Göring was eager to please Hitler, and so willingly obeyed his orders. Since the SS had been Hitler's personal bodyguard, they were even more brutal and obedient to Hitler than the SA had been. They were also supported by the army, which was now more willing to comply with Hitler's decisions than when the SA had still existed.

Related Topics:
Night of the Long Knives - SS - Hermann Göring - SA

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Hitler now had more direct control over the government and political attitude to Jews in Nazi Germany. In the period 1937 to 1938, harsh new laws were implemented, and the segregation of Jews from the German "Aryan" population began. In particular, Jews were punished financially for their "race."

Related Topics:
Nazi Germany - 1937 - 1938

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On March 1, 1938, government contracts could not be awarded to Jewish businesses. On September 30 of the same year, "Aryan" doctors could only treat "Aryan" patients. Provision of medical care to Jews was already hampered by the fact that Jews were banned from being doctors or having any professional jobs.

Related Topics:
March 1 - 1938 - September 30

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On August 17, Jews had to add "Israel" (males) or "Sarah" (females) to their names, and a large letter "J" was to be imprinted on their passports on October 5. On November 15, Jewish children were banned from going to public schools. By April 1939, nearly all Jewish companies had either collapsed under financial pressure and declining profits, or had been persuaded to sell out to the Nazi-German government, further reducing their rights as human beings; they were, in many ways, effectively separated from the German populace.

Related Topics:
August 17 - October 5 - November 15 - April - 1939

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The increasingly totalitarian, militaristic regime that Hitler imposed on Germany allowed him to control the actions of the SS and the army. On November 17, 1938, a young Polish Jew attacked and shot two German officials in the Nazi-German embassy in Paris over the treatment of his parents by the Nazi-Germans. Goebbels took the opportunity to impress Hitler, and ordered retaliation. That night the SS conducted the Night of Broken Glass ("Kristallnacht"), in which the storefronts of Jewish shops and offices were smashed and vandalized. Approximately 100 Jews were killed, and another 20,000 sent to the newly formed concentration camps. Many Germans were disgusted by this action when the full extent of the damage was discovered, so Hitler ordered it to be blamed on the Jews. Collectively, the Jews were made to pay back one billion RM in damages; the fine was collected by confiscating 20% of every Jew's property.

Related Topics:
Totalitarian - Militaristic - November 17 - 1938 - Paris - Kristallnacht - Concentration camp

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