4.4 The persecution of minorities Flashcards
What were some reasons for Jewish persecution?
> Associated with communism (Marxs was Jewish)
Jealous of the success of many Jewish professionals + business owners.
Used as scapegoats for Germany’s problems
Suspicious of diff religion
Blamed for defeat in WW1 + signing of TOV (some Jewish politicians involved).
What were the reasons most non-Jewish people let the persecution happen?
> Long-standing distrust of Jewish people= common across Europe.
Influence of anti-Semitic Nazi propaganda.
Fear of SS + Gestapo if they spoke out.
Major events attacking Jewish business
> 1933- 1 day boycott of Jewish shop organised by SS, Yellow star painted on the front to discourage entry.
1937- Jewish business = taken over by Aryans.
1938-Jews had to register their property Jewish set on fire in Kristallnacht.
1939-Jews barred form owning businesses.
Major events attacking Jews profession + other aspects of their life.
> 1933- Jewish actor + musician= banned from performing. Jewish civil servants + teachers= sacked, Jews not allowed to join the army. Jews banned from inheriting land. 1 day SS boycott of Jewish doctors+ lawyers.
1934- Some Jews=banned from public places e.g. parks+ pools. Other councils painted benches yellow for only Jews.
1935-Nuremberg laws= further restrictions on Jewish life.
1936- Jews banned/restricted from work as a: vet, accountant, teacher,dentist and nurse.
1937- Jewish passports stamped with ‘J’. ‘Israel’ or ‘Sarah’ had to be added to Jewish names.
1939- ‘Reich office for Jewish emigration’ set up=aimed to expel all Jews from Germany.
What were the Nuremberg Laws?
Nuremberg laws-1935
Reich law on Citizenship:
>Only those with German blood= citizens
>Jews become subjects not citizens=> turning point many human rights stripped.
>Couldn’t vote, have a German passport or work for GOV
>Yellow star of David sewn onto clothes (ease of identification).
Reich law for the protection of German blood + honour:
>Jew cannot marry/ have sexual relations with a German Citizen.
What happened during the Kristallnacht? What caused/ triggered it?
The night of the broken glass-1938
>7 Nov- 17 year old Polish boy enters German embassy Paris + shoots German
>8 Nov- Goebbels uses this to stir antisemitism by attacking homes + synagogues in Hanover
>9 Nov Goebbels + Hitler decide to increase violence to nationwide attack.
>9-10 Nov- Uniformed + non-uniformed gangs ran amok in Jewish communities, destroying +burning homes, shops, businesses + synagogues.
What was the casualties/damage did the Kristallnacht cause? What were the consequences of the Kristallnacht?
Damage:
-100 Jews killed
-814 shops destroyed
-171 homes destroyed
-191 synagogues destroyed
Consequences:
-Goebbels blamed Jews for starting the trouble, ordered to pay for damages.
-Jews fined 1B marks0pik
What was the Nazi racial hierarchy?
1)Aryans-‘master race@
2)Other white western Europeans- fellow humans, lower than Aryans.
3)Eastern Europeans-Slav=’sub-human’
4)Black people+ Gypsies-‘Sub-human’ + ‘work-shy’ (lazy)
5)Jews-Lowest of the ‘sub-humans’ + blamed for Germany’s problems
How did Hitler grow his ideal race?
> ‘Race farms’- Aryan men + women= Aryan kids.
SS= central to this as they were only Aryan + married only Aryan
Who were the Untermenschen?
How were they treated?
Untermenschen= describes ‘inferior people’ e.g. Slavs, gypsies, black people+ Jews:
>1935-Nuremberg laws= banns Aryans marrying gypsies, black people+ Jews.
>Mixed-race children= sterilised
>After 1933- gypsies= arrested+ sent to conc camps . From 1938 they had to be registered + banned from travelling. 1939= told they would be deported.
>Slavs+ reminded they wern’t Aryan, less persecuted than others.
