The Jews and The Kristallnacht Flashcards
1
Q
What is Anti-Semitism?
A
Hatred of Jews.
2
Q
Who did the Nazis persecute the most?
A
The Jews
3
Q
Why did Jews experience discrimination?
A
- In Europe they’d experienced discrimination for hundreds of years
- One reason for this persecution was religious
- Some believed that Jews were to be blamed for the death of Jesus Christ
- They tended to be well educated and therefore held good jobs or ran successful stores or businesses
4
Q
Discrimination of Jews continued
A
- In Hitler’s years of poverty in Vienna, he became obsessed by the fact that Jews ran many of the most successful businesses and this offended his idea of Aryan superiority
- Hitler blamed Jewish bankers and businessmen for Germany’s defeat in WW1
- He thought that they had forced the surrender of the German army
5
Q
Name 3 examples of early measures against the Jews
A
- As soon as Hitler came to power in 1933, he immediately banned Jews from the Civil Service and public services
- The SA and SS troopers organised boycotts of Jewish shops and businesses which were marked with the Star of David
- In 1935 the Nuremberg Laws took away German citizenship from Jews
6
Q
Name another 3 examples of early measures against the Jews
A
- Jews were forbidden to marry or have sex with pure-blooded Aryan Germans
- Goebbels’ propaganda experts bombarded German children and families with anti-Jewish messages
- In daily life Jews faced discrimination e.g. refused jobs or Jewish children segregated in schools
7
Q
When did the Kristallnacht happen?
A
November 1938
8
Q
What evoked the Kristallnacht?
A
- In November 1938 a young Jew killed a German diplomat in Paris
- The Nazis used this as an excuse to launch a violent revenge on Jews
9
Q
What did the Nazis do during the Kristallnacht as revenge?
A
- SS troopers were issued with weapons and the addresses of Jewish businesses
- They smashed Jewish shops and workplaces
- Hundreds of synagogues were burned
- 91 Jews murdered
- 20,000 Jews taken to concentration camps
- Thousands left the country
- Many Germans were alarmed
10
Q
What does Kristallnacht mean?
A
‘The Night of the Broken Glass’
11
Q
How did the Nazi-controlled press present the Kristallnacht?
A
The Kristallnacht was presented as a spontaneous reaction of ordinary Germans against the Jews.
12
Q
What happened to the few who protested against the Kristallnacht?
A
They were brutally murdered.
13
Q
A
