Ethnic Minorities in the Weimar Republic

Question 1

What did the treatment of ethnic minorities in Weimar depend on?

Answer 1

• In Weimar it depended upon where they lived and who they were
• They often received lower wages than the German man and were not employed if a German was available
• Elite Conservatives, landowners and army were less welcoming
• City based liberals were more welcoming

Question 2

What was Article 113?

Answer 2

Those who spoke different languages could not be legally stopped from preserving their personal identity

Question 3

Despite Article 113 what allowed for the poor treatment of ethnic minorities?

Answer 3

• The Länder could instate laws against ethnic minorities

Question 4

How much of the population was Jewish in 1918 and where did they predominantly live?

Answer 4

• Less than 1% of the population was Jewish
• 67% lived in cities
• Anti-semites called it ‘Jew Berlin’

Question 5

What caused the government to ban many anti-semitic organisations in the Republic?

Answer 5

Assassination of Jewish Foreign Minister Walther Rathenau in 1922

Question 6

What was the anti-semitic group ‘German peoples offensive and defensive alliance’? How many members did they have when they disbanded?

Answer 6

• A group who believed that the Jews conspired with the allies and lost Germany the way
• Disbanded in 1923 with 170,000 members
• Many joined the Nazis after

Question 7

How did Judges treat Jews?

Answer 7

• Lots of Conservative judges were anti-semitic and made racist remarks in their decisions
• They treated Jews much like they did the communists with decisions often going against them

Question 8

How did the depression affect the treatment of Jews in Germany?

Answer 8

• People wanted someone to blame, led to the blaming of Jews and Communists
• This move towards extremism is signified by the election results after the depression, more people moved towards extremist parties

Question 9

What was the ‘Reich Federation of Jewish Front Soldiers’?

Answer 9

• An organisations set up to battle anti-semitism
• Showed that 85,000 Jews fought and 12,000 had died

Question 10

Why were Gypsies discriminated against in the Republic?

Answer 10

• Due to them moving around a lot, not contributing to the country by working, paying taxes or integrating

Question 11

There was no federal legislation against Gypsies, what did Länder’s attempt to do? (Bavaria)

Answer 11

• Bavaria’s Länder passed laws against Gypsies
• Aimed to get their children into schools and adults into work (Hesse also adopted these)
• 1927 all Gypsies were made to carry identity cards

Question 12

What was the result of Poles and the TofV?

Answer 12

• The border between Poland and Germany was redrawn
• Caused for people to be left on either side in a new country

Question 13

How many Polish Speakers were in Germany in 1925? How many left due to hostility?

Answer 13

• 200,000 Polish speakers in Germany, and 500,000 who spoke both languages (more integrated)
• 30,000 left between 1925 and 1933 due to the hostility of having fought against Germany in the war

Question 14

Why was there hostility towards black people?

Answer 14

• In 1923 Occupation of the Ruhr the French had sent a unit of black soldiers from their colonies
• As a result the 500 mixed race children born were denounced as ‘Germanys shame’
• Black people in Germany found that some areas became hostile

Question 15

What black people were accepted and where?

Answer 15

Musicians and writers were accepted in the cities