Minority groups in Nazi Germany Flashcards
What is eugenics?
The science of selective breeding
On whose ideas were eugenics based?
Charles Darwin
How did the Nazis use eugenics to try to produce ‘better’ human beings?
Selecting the ‘best’ parents (e.g. members of the SS; Aryans) to create the best child possible
How were ‘unsuitable’ parents prevented from reproducing?
They were sterilised
What was the idea of ‘racial hygiene’ taught in schools and communicated through Nazi propaganda?
The idea that Aryan Germans should only reproduce with other Aryans to make their offspring ‘pure’ Aryan
What did Hitler say about the Aryan race in Mein Kampf?
It was the superior race (Herrenvolk)
What did Hitler say about the Slavs in Mein Kampf?
They were sub-human (Untermenschen)
What did Hitler say about the Roma and Sinti people and the Jewish people in Mein Kampf?
They were ‘unworthy of life’ (Lebensumwertes)
Give THREE reasons why antisemitism was common in Europe before the Nazis
1) Their religion, customs and looks made Jewish people stand out as ‘different’
2) Some Christians blamed Jewish people for the execution of Christ
3) Some Jewish people were very successful in finance and business, creating jealousy towards them
Give THREE events between 1918 and 1933 which were blamed on Jewish people in Germany
1) The Treaty of Versailles
2) Hyperinflation in 1923
3) The Great Depression of 1929-33
Who were Slavs?
Ancient tribes of people who migrated into Europe from the East, found in Eastern Europe and Germany
What did the Nazis teach about Slavs?
They were sub-human and needed to be treated differently to Aryan Germans
Why did the Nazis want to invade Slav countries?
They wanted Lebensraum (extra living space) for German people
How many Roma and Sinti Germans were there in the early 1930s?
26,000
What did the Nazis believe about the Roma and Sinti people?
They did not work enough or contribute enough taxes
They posed a threat to Germany’s racial hygiene
