Ethnic minorities Flashcards
How did the temporary recession in 1966 affect the lives of GW’s?
ECONOMIC CRISES
-the recession produced significant amounts of hostility towards ethnic minorities, particularly those who didn’t speak German or attempt to assimilate
-At this time many landlords refused to take GW’s as tenants which helped to confine them to living among other GW’s in poorer areas
How did the Government response to the 1973 oil crisis affect GW’s?
ECONOMIC CRISES
The government implemented a temporary ban on hiring GW’s and banned permits for the families of GW’s already in the country.
What happened to the number of GW’s following the temporary ban on hiring them of 1973?
ECONOMIC CRISES
they fell to under 2 million
How did the oil crisis affect GW children?
ECONOMIC CRISES
-The government put a stop to the paid employment of GW children in 1977- 50% of GW teens were unemployed.
-However, the government did give them the same welfare benefits as other children in 1975 to to high unemployment rates.
What’s an example of how in times economic stability GW’s were treated well?
ECONOMIC CRISES
-In 1964, minister for labour Theodore blank made a speech to mark the occasion of the millionth GW arriving in the FRG.
-He stated that since Germany’s labour pool was likely to continue shrinking, they would be of continued importance, and would receive child benefits and welfare if they brought their families over.
What was the policy of trade unions to Guest Workers in the FRG?
LACK OF OPPURTUNITY FOR ASSIMILATION
-initially trade unions helped GW’s adjust to work
-In the 1950’s trade unions disliked the idea of recruiting GW’s- concerned they would drive wages down, accept less favourable working conditions, and hence undercut existing workers
How did employers serve to alienate ethnic minorities from assimilation into society in the FRG?
LACK OF OPPURTUNITY FOR ASSIMILATION
by providing basic accommodation for GW’s often in dormitories near factories of outside of town
How was there a lack of assimilation within employment in the FRG?
LACK OF OPPURTUNITY FOR ASSIMILATION
GW’s would often work jobs that Germans were happy to leave.
-1961-73: approximately 3 million German workers switched from agricultural and industrial jobs to white collar jobs
-870,000 Germans left mining which was replaced by 1.1 million GW’s
How was there a lack of opportunity for assimilation in education in the FRG?
LACK OF OPPURTUNITY FOR ASSIMILATION
Although the number of foreign children in schools rose from 165,000 in 1970 to 200,000 in 1983, there were significant problems with educational provisions
-60% of foreign children in schools in 1983 were muslim. Most muslim children started education at aged 6 with no pre-school education or language help.
-Many EM’s set up their own national schools, such as koran schools which received much hostility
How did basic law affect the lives of GW’s?
LACK OF OPPURTUNITY FOR ASSIMILATION
-there was no intention to give citizenship rights to GW’s as defined in basic law, which was based on German blood, not accommodation.
-Gov policy as laid down in basic law was to provide a ‘democratic education’ + equal education for all. The government tried to persuade the lander to provide mixed culture learning groups.
Which church organisations supported ethnic minorities FRG?
PUBLIC ATTITUDES
Caritas and diakonisches wes
How does the name Guest Worker reflect German attitudes of the FRG?
PUBLIC ATTITUDES
it eludes to the idea that they were considered temporary
How were social tensions exacerbated between the public and GW’s?
PUBLIC ATTITUDES
high crime rate and educational disparity (70% of GW children failed the Abitur exam)
What was the effect of ethnic associations on assimilation?
PUBLIC ATTITUDES
West Germans were polarised over the matter of ethnic associations, with many believing they slowed and halted assimilation
Was there extremism towards Em’s in the FRG?
PUBLIC ATTITUDES
yes, from 1979-1980 there were 6 far right attacks against jewish memorials and GW accommodation
Did public-GW relations improve in the late 1970’s?
PUBLIC ATTITUDES
Although Schmidt introduced a federal commissioner for foreigners affairs in 1978, to help work for the rights of EM’s and their integration (while also setting out clearcut rules regarding applying for unrestricted residence), due to a lack of assimilation, neither GW’s or the public wanted integration.
Give an example of government tolerance early on
PUBLIC ATTITUDES
The gov guaranteed non-German workers the same wages in the signing of labour recruitment treaties
What did article 113 of the Weimar constitution say?
It said that ethnic minorities who spoke a different language couldn’t be legally prevented from using their language or preserving their national identity
Did the lander strictly follow the policies towards EM’s laid out by the WG?
No
The lander didn’t always adhere to government policy. They had the authority to form and follow their own laws against minorities.
How did the Lander treat the Roma and Sinti Gypsies in the WR?
Several lander attempted to pass laws that would control the movement of Gypsies.
What did the Bavarian lander do to try and control the movement of gypsies? When?
A series of laws were passed in 1926/7 aimed at controlling the gypsies movement, getting their children into schools and adults into work, forcing them to carry identity cards
How many jews held cabinet posts in the WR?
5
What did the government do following Walter Rathenau’s assassination in 1922?
The WG banned a number of anti-semitic organisations
What was the policy of the judiciary to EM’s in the WR?
Some traditional members of the judiciary were anti-semitic and made fascist remarks in their judgements
What did Hitler impose on Jews in January 1933?
A national boycott of jewish businesses, whereby SA members discouraged the public from entering jewish shops
HOWEVER- Hitler had intended for the boycott to last a year, but Schacht the finance minister realised the value of jewish businesses to the German economy.
What were the Nuremberg laws passed in September 1935?
1) The reich citizenship law: Jews were no longer citizens
2) The law for the protection of German blood and honour: German-Jewish intermarriage was forbidden
Give examples of 2 laws passed in 1938 that exacerbated the segregation of Jews from German society
1- A law that meant jewish passports must be stamped with a J
2- A law confiscating jewish businesses (Jews were excluded from German economic life); This was known as the Decree on the Elimination of the Jews from German Economic Life
What happened to Jews living in Poland in 1940?
They were forced into Ghettos
What did Himmler order in April 1940?
The building of Auschwitz- 1/6 of the major Nazi death camps
What policy in 1941 extended nazi racial policy beyond Germany’s borders?
6 Einsatzgruppen (SS paramilitary death squads) were ordered to kill Jews and communists in Russia
responsible for at least 1.5 million and possibly more than 2 million Holocaust victims died in mass shootings or gas vans in Soviet territory.
When did the execution of the Roma and Sinti Gypsies begin?
When war broke out
What was the final solution? when was it enacted?
-The gassing of Jews at Auschwitz
-1942
Where were death camps established by spring 1942?
Belzec, Treblinka, Sobibor
What happened to Jews from 1942-45?
They were transported to death camps around Europe- 6 million were murdered
What kind of discrimination did EM’s face in the WR?
EM’s generally faced the same low level discrimination as that of women, receiving lower wages and hostility in the workplace
Why were Gypsies discriminated against in the WR?
Because they moved around as a community and didn’t contribute to the economy by working, paying taxes or integrating into Weimar society
What was created in response to the hostility Jews faced over the Great Depression in 1929?
The reich federation of Jewish front line soldiers- combatted anti-semitism
What racist and anti-semitic organisation pertained in the WR? How much did membership increase by?
The German peoples defensive and offensive alliance.
Membership increased from 25,000 (1919) to 170,000 (1923)
Why did black people face rising hostility following 1923?
-The French mobilised troops from their black colonies during the occupation of the Ruhr in 1923.
-500 mixed raced babies were born and regarded as “Germany’s shame”
What was the attitude of German elites to EM’s in the WR?
From 1871, with German nationalism and the idea of the ‘Volk’, ethnic minorities were generally regarded as inferior by the elites
What was the commonly held view regarding ethnic minorities, despite the constitution?
-Although the constitution formally recognised racial equality, stereotypes of Jews and africans supported a commonly held view that Germans were racially superior.
-colonial expansion in modern day Namibia and the implementation of genocide in the early 1900’s supported this conviction
In 1915, how many married jews were married to non-jews?
1/3
How many jews had fought in the army in the WR?
85,000
How did the public perception of EM’s transform under Nazi rule?
Discrimination and hostility crucially intensified. The indoctrination of the public with notions of aryan purity and the teaching of race eugenics supported a commonly held view of aryan superiority.
What was Kristallnacht (1938)?
A government permitted attack on Jews in Germany and Austria. Jewish homes, businesses and synagogues were vandalised and burned; approx 28,000 jews were transported to conc. camps
How many polish speakers were there in Germany in 1925?
over 200,000 polish speakers, another 500,000 spoke both polish and German, and often saw themselves and German
How many Jewish men had professional jobs in the WR 1919-32?
75% (eg doctors, lawyers etc), compared with 25% of the German population
How did the Jewish people professionally interact with the judiciary in the Weimar republic?
Jews had been systematically excluded from the judiciary before 1914 and continued to be after the war
What industries were jews underrepresented in?
Chemical & Banking
What was the attitude towards black musicians from 1924 onwards?
There was a significantly higher demand for black musicians and singers in jazz clubs- Black American artists were at the forefront of the Jazz scene and could earn 4x as much in Germany that the USA
What movie glorified the killing of black soldiers in Africa?
George Pabst’s ‘Westfront’
What happened to Jewish doctors in Nazi Germany?
1936- They were banned from working in government hospitals, so were jewish patients
How does the 1936 Berlin olympics elucidate anti-semitism?
Jewish athletes were excluded from representing Germany, other than one half jewish female fencer- Helene Mayer
What law banned Jews from working in the civil service?
Law for the Restoration of the Professional Civil Service 1933
How did the nazi government isolate jews from law?
The German government issued a new law concerning membership in the bar, which mandates the disbarment of non-“Aryan” lawyers by September 30, 1933
How many Ghettos were established by the Nazis in Germanys eastern territories?
1443 Ghettos
What was the largest Ghetto?
Warsaw-400,00
What was the role of the Ghetto police force?
The ghetto police force enforced the orders of the German authorities and the ordinances of the Jewish councils - included facilitating deportations to killing centres
