Anti Semitism 1919-1930 Flashcards
1
Q
Hopes for assimilation
A
- Jews felt that they had a good future to look forward to
- Liberal democracy provided greater legal protections
- Jews would be able to play an influential role
- Economical and social success
- Believed that the next generation would do better.
- Economic prosperity and political stability
2
Q
Fears of assimilation
A
- Suicide and divorce rates doubles- so was the incidence of clinical depression
- Uncertainty about how to respond to anti-semitism
- Zionists tried to fight back by emphasising Jewish cultural traditions
- Anti-Semitism remained of the fringes of society and politics
- Economic depression was blamed on Jews
3
Q
Zionist opinion on assimilation
A
Zionists and the Ultra- Orthodox were strongly opposed to assimilation
4
Q
Social Darwinism
A
- Based on Darwin’s theory of evolution and natural selection.
- Incorporated in to Nazi ideology
5
Q
Who was Houston Stewart Chamberlain?
A
- English author
- Argued that Jews were a degenerate, evil race conspiring world domination
6
Q
Joseph Gobineau
A
- Argued that various races were physically and psychologically different
- Rise and fall of civilisation was determined racially
- All of the high cultures in the world were the work of the Aryan race
7
Q
The Volkish Movement
A
- Nationalism
- Believed that Germans were the master race
- Hostile to other races
8
Q
Jewish influences
A
- 1% of the German population was Jewish
ART AND ARCHITECTURE - Erich Mendelsohn- Einstein building - most iconic buildings of the Weimar era
- Bauhaus school
- Associated with modernism and expressionism
PRESS - 4 Jewish newspapers in Berlin
- 1.8 million in circulation 1930
FILM - 1931 over 60% of German films were produced by Jews
- 82% of German film scrips were written by Jews
- Roaring 20s
BANKING - Half of all German banks were owned by Jews In the 1920s- this decreased over the years
PROFESSIONS - 16% of Lawyers were Jewish
- 11% of doctors were Jewish
- traditionally valued education highly
- mainly upper middle class
9
Q
Assimilation
A
- Integrating in to German society rather than remaining separate
- Adopting the language, culture and values of mainstream society
10
Q
Jewish Bolshevism
A
Term used by anti Semites to imply that Jews and communists were closely associated and represented a danger to German values
11
Q
The Sparacus Uprising 1918
Jews and communism
A
- Communist revolutionary group
- Leaders were Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht
- In direct contact with Lenin’s Bolshevik regime in Russia
- Right wingers saw the uprising as ‘Jewish-Bolshevism’ partly because Rosa Luxemburg was Jewish
12
Q
The Freikorps
A
- Represented a powerful and dangerous military force since the Treaty of Versailles restricted the official German army to 100,00 men
- Large numbers of ex-soldiers kept their weapons and remained together as armed gangs
- No help at all from saving the Republic from right wing threats
- Heavily involved in the Kapp Putsch that tried to overthrow democracy in 1920
- Eventually disbanded as political stability returned
- Many members of the Freikorps drifted in to the Black Reichswehr or the SA
13
Q
Economic Collapse and targeting Jewish politicians and financiers
A
- World Jewry- Jews wanted to dominate the world
- collapse would allow the communists to come in and take over
- Jews were used as a scapegoat
14
Q
25 point programme of the NSDAP
A
- Designed to be temporary
- Advertising the Nazi Party
- Established, merely, to increase the discontent of the masses and ensure the continued existence of the party
15
Q
Reichstag elections 1919-1924
A
- Political developments showed that democratic parties seemed to be struggling to govern Germany effectively
- Anti- republican parties were in a position to do a lot of damage politically
- There was so much political instability that there were two elections in 1924
- No agreement- Government collapsed
