Frontsheet 5

Question 1

Increasingly radical policy

Answer 1

25 point programme (1920)
set out radical policy
↳only members of nation citizens
Jews not members
↳non-citizens may live in Germany only as guests
& subject to laws for aliens
if proves impossible to feed nation
foreign nationals may be deported
↳big department stores should be divided
many owned by jewish families
↳party stands for christianity
but does not commit itself to
particular denomination

Explicitly outlined in Mein Kampf (1924)
foreigners/Jews had no place
in Volksegemeinschaft

Question 2

Five stages of radicalisation

Answer 2

1. Legal revolution
   1933-34
   restrained policy
2. Creating new Germany
   1934-37
   gradual development
   still concerned about opinions home/abroad
   avoided confrontation w/ army/industrialists/Church
3. Radicalisation of state
   1938-39
   policy became bolder
   strong economy/control of police state
4. Impact of foreign policy
   1939-41
   dramatic escalation
   caused by annexation of Austria
   & invasions of Czechoslovakia/Poland
5. Final solution
   1942-45
   further escalation/radicalisation
   death toll/barbarity increased

Question 3

Racial ideology

Answer 3

Social Darwinism
viewed humanity as hierarchy of races
believed Jews/black people/Slavs inferior
Herrenvolk = Aryans of northern Europe

Racial Hygiene
purify stronger races
by eliminating germs
threatened through inter-marriage
w/ degenerate races
used to justify killings/sterilisation

Question 4

Groups excluded from Volksgemeinschaft

Answer 4

Political enemies

‘Asocials’

Different races

Those w/ hereditary conditions

Question 5

Radical policy for Lebensraum

Answer 5

Bring ‘lost Germans’ back into Reich

‘Germanisation’ of eastern lands

Racial annihilation of Slavs & Bolshevism

Question 6

Law for Prevention of Hereditary Diseased Progeny

Answer 6

July 1933
Introduced compulsory sterilisation
of men/women deemed ‘inferior’
due to hereditary disease
(eg. ‘feeble-mindedness’, epilepsy, ect.)
↳viewed as ‘unproductive burdens’ on resources
∴ not part of Volksgemeinschaft

60% of sterilisations were for ‘feeble-mindedness’

Later extended to allow
sterilisation of girls > 10
& forced operations of girls > 14

Doctors authorised to carry out abortions
of women in above categories

1936 sterilisation by X-ray
permitted all women > 38 (voluntary)
∵ increased risk of diseased children

‘Moral insanity’ justified prevention of birth
among criminal underclass/asocials

Decisions made by
Hereditary Health Courts
often took 10 mins & no appeals

1933-45
400,000 people sterilised

Question 7

Marital Health Law

Answer 7

Oct 1935

Banned union between
‘hereditary healthy’ & genetically unfit

Question 8

Euthanasia Programme

Answer 8

Oct 1939
regime authorised euthanasia programme
for mentally ill/physically disabled

Openly stated needed to ensure
‘merciful’ deaths
to relieve burden on national community
policy viewed as extension to sterilisation
↳that had received considerable support

Originated from father writing to Hitler
asking to put to sleep his severely disabled baby

Led by Dr. Bouhler & Dr. Brandt

Medical staff inform authorities
of children w/ mental illnesses/physical deformities
children sent to special hospitals
would be starved or given lethal injections

5,000 killed
considered ‘incurable’ & burdens

Question 9

Aktion T4 Programme

Answer 9

Oct 1939
Brandt & Bouhler
extend euthanasia programme
to include adults

Assessors never met patients
made decisions based on form filled
by doctors/nurses in clinics/asylums

70,000 killed by 1941
est. 300,000 by 1945

Question 10

Protests against Aktion T4

Answer 10

Some doctors/nurses objected
other took part - hope further career

Programme remained secret
by 1940 rumours spread

An official filed complaint
w/ Reich Justice Ministry
& accusation of murder made against Bouhler

July 1940
Church began to protest
↳Aug 3
Bishop von Galen preached sermon
making emotional attack
sparked protests/demonstrations across Germany
↳Dec
Pope pronounces killings
against the ‘natural & positive law of God’

Aug 1941
Hitler called end to programme
due to hostile public response
scheme continued secretly until 1945

Question 11

Policy towards Asocials

Answer 11

Sept 1933
began mass round up of
300,000 - 500,000 tramps/beggars
many young unemployed
↳lacked space in [camps]
split into ‘orderly’ & ‘disorderly’
↳orderly fit/willing to work
w/ no convictions
given permits & forced work for accommodation
↳disorderly sent to [camps]

1936
further round up to remove from Berlin streets
before Olympic Games
gave foreign visitors false sense of success
in Nazi social/economic policies

set up ‘asocial colony’
called Hashude
aim to re-educate for reintegration

1938
even bigger round up
of tramps/beggars/pimps/gypsies
most sent to Buchenwald [camp]

Question 12

Policy towards LGBTQ

Answer 12

Purge of organisations/literature
clubs shut down & publication banned

May 1933
Nazi students attacked
Institute of Sex Research
& burned its library
seized list of names held by institute
& passed to Gestapo
Gestapo began compiling list gay people
to launch sustained campaign of persecution
Röhm killed in NotLK

1935
law extended to widen definition of homosexuality
& impose harsher penalties for convictions
over 22,000 men arrested & imprisoned 1936-38

1936
Himmler created
Reich Office for the Combatting of Homosexuality and Abortion

Approx. 50,000 men convicted/sent [camps]
immediately returned under
‘protective custody’ once released
forced to wear pink triangles in camps
marked for harsher treatment by guards
some forcibly castrated
est. 60% gay prisoners died in camps

Lesbians not suffer same level persecution
labelled ‘asocials’ not ‘degenerates’

Question 13

Policy towards Roma & Sinti

Answer 13

1933
approx. 30,000 people Roma/Sinti descent

1935
decided Nuremberg Laws applied to gypsies

1936
SS set up
Reich Central Office for the Fight Against the Gypsy Nuisance
SS began to locate & classify them
& central database of names constructed
those w/ heritage part-Gypsy
labelled Mischlinge

Dec 1938
Himmler issued
Decree for the Struggle Against the Gypsy Plague
instigated more systemic classification
after Sept 1939 those identified
deported to Poland

Question 14

Policy towards religious sects

Answer 14

Several Christian sects
posed threat to
achievement of Gleischaltung/Volksgemeinschaft
inc.:
Jehovah’s Witnesses
Mormons
Seventh-Day Adventists

Most groups banned by Nov 1933
some bans lifted
when showed cooperation w/ regime
Gestapo attended services
& kept them under surveillance

7th-Day gave positive welcome
quickly agreed to display swastika flag in churches
conclude services w/ ‘Heil Hitler’
& remove ‘Jewish’ language of Old Testament from services
excluded asocials
Jews removed from receiving
food/shelter from charity organisations

Jehovah’s Witnesses only group to
show uncompromising hostility to regime
had around 30,000 members - believed only serve God
refused to take oath of loyalty to Hitler
refused to give Hitler salute
refused attended parades/accept conscription
many arrested & continued show disobedience while imprisoned
by 1945
approx. 10,000 imprisoned & large no. died

Question 15

Gradualism of policy towards Jews

Answer 15

Propaganda/humiliation
↓
Boycotts
↓
Laws/exclusion/removal of citizenship
↓
Increased violence & forced emigration
↓
Transportation/deportation/ghettos & imprisonment
↓
Mass murder
↓
Organised mass extermination

Question 16

Causes for gradualist programme

Answer 16

1933-34
still relied on support from non-Nazis

Not ready for war/concerned about foreign opinion

Many voted NSDAP despite anti-Semitic polices
concerned about public backlash
especially pre-economic policy

Needed time for propaganda
to isolate & dehumanise Jews

As dictatorship extended
persecution could expand

Historian’s argue
did not have clearly developed plan
for how to remove Jews
Anschluss/invasions of Poland/invasion of Russia
shaped policy as more Jews
came under control

Question 17

Reich Press Law

Answer 17

Oct 1933

Applied strict censorship
& silenced large no. Jewish journalists/editors

Closing down of publication
accompanied by violence & intimidation

Question 18

Discrimination of Jews

Answer 18

1933-36

Banned from using
swimming pools/restaurants/joining local organisations/clubs

Some places continued to serve secretly

Question 19

Law Against Overcrowding of German Schools

Answer 19

Apr 1933

Restricted no. Jews children in schools

Took until 1938 for exclusion
from all state schools to be achieved

Question 20

Persecution of Jews through propaganda

Answer 20

Relentless campaign
to educate German people

Message spread through posters/radio/film/newspapers/speeches

Question 21

1933 Boycott

Answer 21

Apr 1 1933

Hitler called boycott of
all Jewish shops/businesses

SA stood outside businesses
to intimidate Germans into upholding boycott
many defied it

Called off after 1 day
concerned about reaction of conservatives

Question 22

Nuremberg Laws

Answer 22

Sept 1935

The Reich Citizenship Law
stripped Jews of German citizenship
∴ many legal rights

Law for the Protection of German Blood & German Honour
marriage/sexual relations
between Jews & citizens forbidden
later physical touch

Later decree gave clear definition of ‘Jewish’
2-3 Jewish grandparents
‘Half-Jews’ known as Mischlinge
& could live normal lives
Classifications were difficult
& often inconsistent
Could be failure of Nazification
needed laws to implement ideas/ideology

Question 23

Law for the Reconstruction of the Professional Civil Service

Answer 23

Apr 1933

Required Jews dismissed from civil service

Hindenburg insisted on exemptions
for Jews who fought in WW1/fathers killed
applied to 2/3 Jews in civil service

Question 24

Attempts at Aryanisation 1933-36

Answer 24

60% Jewish lawyers continued practice

Many Jewish doctors
continued treat non-Jewish patients
despite legislation banning
propaganda portrayed as danger to patients

Question 25

Voluntary emigration

Answer 25

Mar 1933 - Nov 1938
c. 150,000 Jews voluntarily emigrated

Low number ∵
People did not want to leave homes/friends/country
People not have financial means/visa/passport requ.
People not realise persecution would become worse

Question 26

1936 Olympics

Answer 26

Hitler used to showcase success of regime

Order toning down
anti-Semitic propaganda & discrimination

Question 27

Cause of radicalisation

Answer 27

Hitler more confident in position

Establishment of totalitarian state

Success in foreign policy

Propaganda success

Question 28

Affect of foreign policy on anti-Semitic policy

Answer 28

March 1938
Anschluss w/ Austria
183,000 Austrian Jews lost
property/employment/rights
over 1,500 sent to [camps]
inconsistent w/ policy (sending isolated incident)
over 500 committed suicide within 1 month
∵ oppression

Sept 1938 - Mar 1939
Takeover of Czechoslovakia
increased Hitler’s confidence
encouraged further radicalisation
justified as at war

Success of policy in Austria
prompted more radical policy in Germany

Apr 1938
Decree for the Registration of Jewish Property
property worth > 5,000 marks confiscated
c. 32,000 Jewish businesses closed down

Oct 1938
Jewish passports stamped w/ ‘J’

Question 29

Kristallnacht
Causes

Answer 29

Propaganda portrayed as
outpouring of anti-Semitic feeling
led by German people
after 19 yr old Jewish boy
assassinated Nazi official in Paris
↳boy blamed for killing - didn’t actually

Pre-planned organised & led by Nazis
particularly Goebbels & Göring
officials/SA secretly organised violence/vandalism
prevented police/fire services from interfering

Symbolic date for Nazis
15th anniversary of Munich Putsch

Question 30

Kristallnacht
Impact

Answer 30

9-10 Nov 1938
Severe escalation in policy

Shops/houses/businesses brutally attacked
w/ more violence than anything prev. experienced

91 Jews killed
over 200 synagogues burnt
↳fire brigade only watched
over 30,000 Jewish men sent to [camps]
↳first mass imprisonment
over 1M marks damage done
↳Jews had to pay for clean up

Question 31

Kristallnacht
Reaction of ordinary citizens
Support/opposition

Answer 31

Support:
Many joined violence led by SA

Looting of businesses common
& many benefitted from Aryanisation of Jewish businesses

No widespread defiance (like 1933 boycott)
& no open condemnation/opposition

Fire brigade/police/local gov
made no attempts stop violence
unless non-Jews targeted

Opposition:
Some SA/local officials defied orders
Berlin police chief
stopped SA burning main synagogue

Many Germans privately horrified

Some talked about it
opening eyes to true nature of regime
police state deterred from speaking out

Question 32

Further radicalisation of anti-Semitic policy

Answer 32

Göring announced ‘gloves are off’

12 Nov 1938
Decree Excluding Jews from German Economic Life
remaining Jewish businesses
aryanised or shut down
Jews banned from working as
estate agents/security guards/travelling salesman

19 Nov 1938
Jews lost access to public welfare

1939
had to take ‘Sarah’ or ‘Israel’
as additional first name
Hitler turned down suggestion
of wearing yellow star at this point
became German law 1941

Question 33

Forced emigration

Answer 33

Mar 1938 - onward

Eichmann opened
Central Office for Jewish Emigration in Austria

Nazis used threat of seizure of property
to force Jews to leave
45,000 Austrian Jews forced emigrated

Jan 1939
Goering used Eichmann’s model
to open
Reich Central Office for Jewish Emigration
led by Eichmann & Heydrich

Forced Jews to arrange own emigration
& used confiscation of property
as incentive

Remained hard for Jews to leave
many refused to accept Jewish refugees

1938-40
approx. 9,000 Jewish children
travelled to Britain & lived w/ volunteers
as part of Kindertransport

Question 34

Jewish population in Germany

Answer 34

Jan 1933: 525,000
June 1933: 505,000
1939: 234,000

Question 35

Evidence Nazis followed clear & consistent plan

Answer 35

Aryanisation clear
from 25PP -> Nuremberg Laws -> Reich Central Office for Jewish Emigration

Belief in Social Darwinism
Aryans viewed as Herrenvolk
& Jewishness defined as race not religion

Methods got consistently harsher

Propaganda consistently dehumanised Jews

Consistently tried to make Jew leave Germany

Jewish businesses consistently targeted

Legislation consistently segregated Jews

Question 36

Evidence Nazis did not follow a clear & consistent plan

Answer 36

Austrian Jews treated inconsistently
policy implemented earlier in Austria

Definition of Jewishness inconsistency applied

Policy became increasingly harsh

Mass arrests only began after Kristnallnacht

Policy sometimes confusing & contradictory
eg. confiscation of property made it harder for Jews to leave

Nazis subsidised Jewish businesses

Nazi leaders had different views on how to treat Jews
eg. Schacht wanted to prioritise economy

Question 37

Impact of invasion of Poland/start of war on anti-Semitic policy

Answer 37

War gave regime greater emergency powers
& cover of greater secrecy

Hitler now worked towards
creation of Judenfrei German Empire

Annexed land in the west to be part of
‘Greater Germany’
as mainly populated by German speakers
Central part of country
named ‘General Government of Poland’

Focus shifted to deportation/resettlement
of Jews from German & western Poland
to General Government area
↳transported to create Lebensraum
↳approx. 2M Polish Jews resettled
(considered untermenschen)

Eichmann began deportation of 70,000 Polish Jews
Hitler demanded 300,000 German Jews deported
& all Viennen Jews removed
Governor of General Government area
reported inability to cope w/ influx
∴ arrived to awful living conditions

Question 38

Ghettoisation

Answer 38

Feb 1940
Lodz Ghetto set up (first ghetto)
housed most 320,000 Jews from city
↳rest forced into work gangs
& accommodated in temporary barracks

Jewish Council of Elders responsible for
food/housing/finances/security/accommodation

Home confiscated when sent to ghetto
force to sell valuables to buy food
many force to work for no wage
overcrowded - aver. 15 people shared small apartment
disease & infection spread quickly

Can be viewed as failure of regime
to plan in advance using of Jew
forced out of home
by Aryanisation of Western Poland
Can be seen as well-planned scheme
to eliminate Jews
used to increase death rate

Oct 1940
Warsaw ghetto created
> 40,000 Jews lived there
w/ small no. Gypsies

Food at starvation levels
↳aver. 300 calories per day
malnutrition led to disease (eg. typhus)
> 100,000 died (1940-41)
many worked to death carrying out hard labour

Question 39

Jewish resistance

Answer 39

Food bought on black market
& smuggled into ghettoes

Continued to have prayer meetings
& observe religious festivals

Organised illegal schools

Illegal printing presses

Many avoided confrontation
& were waiting it out
believed fall of regime would come
not predicting worse treatment

Question 40

Star of David

Answer 40

Mandatory wearing on armbands
introduced in Poland
shortly after invasion
↳introduced in Germany 1941

Aimed to isolate/dehumanise
as different (eg. inferior)
to everyone else

Failure/refusal to wear
risked severe punishment
even death

Question 41

Madagascar Plan

Answer 41

1940

Relocate French occupants of island
& transport 4M European Jews there

Intended to make conditions deliberately harsh
to help reduction of Jewish population
through ‘natural wastage’

Dominance of British Navy
made transportation by boat unfeasible
& plans for removal to Serbia drafted instead

Question 42

Anti-Semitic legislation within Germany

Answer 42

To stop Jews colluding w/ Allies & acting against the state
Nov 1939
Jews banned from buying radios
& existing ones confiscated
Regulation requiring Jews obtain travel permits tightened

To help direct rations to non-Jews
Dec 1939
Jew banned from buying chocolate
1940
excluded from entitlement
to war time rations of clothes/shoes
July 1940
order issued limited time Jews could enter shops
eg. Berlin 16.00 - 17.00

To help identification & enforcement of above restrictions
Dec 1941
ordered wearing Star of David

Question 43

Background of Jews in USSR

Answer 43

Area occupied had 3M Jews

War w/ Russia portrayed as ‘racial’ war
linked to Jewish-Bolshevik conspiracy
& belief in inferiority of Slavic people
justified more radical treatment of Jews

Segregation/deportation less practical
due to nature of war & scale of problem
murder more efficient way of achieving Aryanisation

Question 44

Einsatzgruppen
Establishment

Answer 44

Special units of SS & SD
assigned to identify/eliminate
possible enemies as they entered countries
eg. Romania & Ukraine

Seized property/prevented sabotage/recruited local collaborators
Shot men/women/children in round-ups of communities

May 1941
Hitler & Himmler directed formation of 4 units
before attack on Russia
units organised by Heydrich

Followed German advances into Russia
came directly into communities & massacred Jews
contrasts later method of deporting to kill centres

Question 45

Einsatzgruppen
Actions

Answer 45

July 1941
Goering ordered them
to kill communist party officials
& Jewish sympathisers

Killed 1.3M - 2M Jews in mass shootings

Victims inc.:
Jews
Roma
Officials of Soviet state & Soviet Communist Party
Residents of institutions for mentally/physically disabled (thousands)

At first shot primarily Jewish men

By late summer 1941
Himmler noted psychological burden
of mass shooting on his men
requested more convenient mode of killing be developed
resulted in mobile gas chambers
which used CO from truck’s exhaust to kill
made first appearance on eastern front late autumn 1941

By spring 1943
killed over 1M Soviet Jews
tens of thousands of:
political commissars
partisans
Roma
institutionalised disabled people