ethnic minorities in Weimar Flashcards
What did Article 133 of the Weimar constitution state?
Groups that spoke a different language could not be stopped or persecuted
What was the Jewish population in Germany in 1918?
1%
What was the Jewish population in Germany in 1933?
0.76%
500,000 jews
Where did the Jews live?
66.8% lived in the cities
33% lived in Berlin (referred to as Jew Berlin)
How many Jews held a position in the Weimar cabinet?
5 Jews
Walther Rathenau most prominent (Foreign minister 1922) however he was assassinated by anti-semites in 1922
What was the main anti-Semitic organisation in Germany?
German Peoples Offensive and Defensive Alliance
25,000 members in 1919
170,000 members 1923
When was the German Peoples Offensive and Defensive Alliance disbanded?
1923
Many went on to join the Nazi party
What did the German Peoples Offensive and Defensive Alliance believe?
They believed in the ‘Stab in the back theory’
What was the main pro Jewish organisation in Germany?
Reich Federation of Jewish Front Soldiers
Why were the Jews persecuted by the Volk?
They mostly believed the ‘Stab in the back’ theory. They also used the Jews as blame for the depression and they believed that the Jews were aligned with the red flag of communism.
Why were the Gypsies persecuted by the Volk?
German people saw Gypsies as lazy.
Gypsies often did no work and would just move around. They served no purpose to the Republic.
Which Lander passed laws attacking Gypsies?
Prussia and Bavaria
Bavaria passes a series of laws in 1926 which controlled their movement and aimed to get their children into schooling and adults into work.
Why were the Poles persecuted by the Volk?
They had fought against Germany in WW1 so when the new Polish border was set up and many Poles were placed in Germany, they were discriminated
How many Poles left Germany between 1925-33?
30,000
Why were the Blacks persecuted by the Volk?
When the occupation of the Ruhr occurred, there were many Blacks who had children with ethnic Germans. 500 mixed race children were born. These children were seen as ‘Germany’s shame’.
