Racial State (1933-45) Flashcards
What did Herronvolk mean?
The master race - the Aryans
What was Hitler’s original racial policy?
‘Purify’ the blood lines and gene pool of Germany
Untermenschen means?
Underclass non-Aryans
Explain social darwinism?
The superior race will thrive due to survival of the fittest, justified racial superiority
How are Jews portrayed?
Dehumanized, predators, satanic, dangerous and parasitic
What is eugenics?
Interfering with genetics - playing God essentially
What was the eugenics policy of July 1933?
Law for the Prevention of Hereditarily Diseased Progeny
Which groups of people were underwent compulsory sterilization in 1933?
Blind, deaf, epileptic, depression, alcoholics, learning difficulties
How many people were roughly sterilized due to the eugenic policy?
400,000
Unfairness within the eugenic policy?
Hereditary Health court cases were only 10 minutes, could be sterilized by force, appeal court led by Karl Astel (a Nazi)
Who and when was the ‘T4 Programme’ established?
Dr Bouhler (psych not medicine) in 1939
What was unusual about setting up of the T4 programme?
Didn’t follow any legislative process, it was a directive. It originated from a private letter
How many children were euthanized due to T4?
5000 from ages 3-16
Why was the T4 euthanasia program stopped?
Cardinal Galen sermon rejecting everything Nazi on Aug 3rd 1941, protests caused Hitler to reverse the policy on 24th Aug 1941
What were the 3 phases of racial policy?
1 - Legal revolution, 2 - Creating a new Germany, 3 - Radicalization of state
People that were classed as asocials?
Tramps/beggars, criminals, alcoholics, work-shy, prostitutes, juvenile delinquents
Why were asocials persecuted?
Hitler said that their unwillingness to work “gave offence to the community” Nazis believed they had a choice and did this to themselves
How were asocials originally treated?
Offered rehabilitation back into society, became more radical in 1938
What was the name of the asocial colony set up?
Haschude, in Northern Germany - set up to re-educate
Why did asocial policy become more radical?
The 10,000 that remained after rehabs were thought to be genetically asocial, needed to be removed
How were people positioned to feel about the Erbkranker?
Pity them, can’t let them suffer
Initial treatment of homosexuals?
In 1933 there was local/grass roots activism of closing clubs, burning libraries and attacking Institute of Sex Research
What did Himmler create in 1936 for homosexuals?
The Reich Office for combatting Homosexuality and Abortion - this created a registry of all homosexuals for the Gestapo
How many homosexuals were sent to concentration camps?
10,000 - 15,000 and forced to wear pink triangles to identify them
What percentage of homosexuals died in concentration camps?
60%
What year did all homosexual SS officers get sent to concentration camps?
1937
When was the boycotting of Jewish shops?
1st April 1933
Significance about the Jewish boycott?
Not organized by Hitler, one day long, not everyone participated
Why was Hitler hesitant to allow the boycott?
Risk of public backfire, didn’t want to lose foreign support and he hadn’t fully established the police state yet
How many Jews emigrated as a result of the Ant-professional Laws of 1933?
37,000
Which Jewish professions were targeted in 1933?
Civil service, doctors, lawyers, education and the Reich Press
How effective were the anti-professional laws of 1933?
Very slow to take effective, enforced by locals more, some Jews still remained working
Why was the racial policy so tame originally?
Hitler was testing the public reaction, he was building on the Reichstag fire conspiracy slowly
When were the Nuremberg Laws?
1935
Reaction in Austria initially due to Anschluss?
Public humiliation of Jews in Vienna, 45,000 Jews encouraged to migrate, all German laws extended to Austria (eg: Nuremberg)
When was Anchluss?
March 1938
What was Anschluss?
The uniting of Germany and Austria (forbidden by TofV, Allies ignore Hitler)
What were the Nuremberg Laws?
Reich Citizenship Law (removed Jewish citizenships), Law for Protection of German Blood and Honor (banned mixed marriages) and Genetic Health Law (medical examinations to prove Aryans)
Different types of public reaction to racial policy?
Exploiting it for personal gain, fear and conformity, genuine hatred towards the Jews
What were some of the 1938 antisemitic intensification laws?
Jewish businesses worth more than RM5000 confiscated, bans of Jewish travel agents, salesman, and security guards, lost welfare, passports stamped with ‘J’
What was the 1939 Name Law?
All Jews had to be named Sarah or Israel = confusion and ad hoc
When was Kristallnacht?
9-10 November 1938
What initiated Kristallnacht?
A Polish Jew killed a Nazi official in Paris, resulted in SS and SA unleashing violence on Jews
How many Jewish businesses were closed due to Registration of Jewish Property Decree 1938?
80%
Who organized Kristallnacht? Significance?
Goebbels (head of propaganda), all other Nazi officials unaware of plans implies ad hoc
Outcome of Kristallnacht?
100 Jews killed, thousands injured, Jews had to pay RM1 billion to fix the damage, no insurance claimed
Who became head of racial policy in 1938?
Goring
Who was head of the General Government in Poland?
Hans Frank - complained of overcrowding of Jews in Poland
How many Jews were in German territory of Poland?
Roughly 1.9 million (60% of 3.1 million)
How many Jews did Eichmann force migrate from West Poland and Czech?
80,000
How many Jews did the SS order eastward?
550,000 from Nov 1939 - Feb 1940
How many German and Viennese Jews did Hitler order into Poland?
300,000
What were conditions like in Ghettoes?
Restricted food, medical supplies, diseases (lice, typhus, tuberculosis), overcrowding of rooms (6 to a single room), organized coach tours to publicly humiliate the Jews
When did Nazis invade Poland with the USSR?
September 1939
When was the Madagascar Plan?
1940
What was the Madagascar Plan?
Removal of European Jews to Madagascar, “natural wastage” of them
What facilitated the Madagascar Plan to go ahead?
Fall of France in 1940, Madagascar was a French territory, Nazi’s took it
Why did the Madagascar Plan fail?
Germany lost Battle of Britain (RAF vs Luftwaffe), English dominated the Channel, couldn’t get Jews on ships past them
Where did Hitler send the Jews next?
Urals in Siberia
What did Hitler have to do to get the Jews to the Urals?
Invade Russia and betray Stalin, does this in 1941
