Weimar: Ethnic Minoirites Flashcards
From 1871 onwards, how did German nationalism and idea of Volk affect peoples views towards ethnic minorities
Poles, gypsies and Jews in Germany, were not regarded equal, especially by elite groups like the army. But, other prejudice was at work to for example, protestant prejudice against Catholics and prejudice against different regions.
What was the extent of ethnic minorities integrating with Germans before the war
They were pretty integrated for sample, businessmen did business together, and people interact daily life
Significant amount of marriage, especially in big cities , in 1915, about one third of all married Jews were married to non-Jews, but also clear areas of difference - minorities had exclusive clubs and associations and Germans had theirs
How was discrimination of ethnic minorities in the Weimar period?
They were mostly accepted, but still low level discrimination for example, receiving low wages and were less likely to be hired than a German man.
Conservative groups were less welcoming and city based liberals were more welcoming
What is Article 113, and was it always implemented?
Stated groups that spoke a different language could not be legally stopped from using this language or preserving national identity
But this was a liberal law, and not always implemented, and did not control laws made by the Länder against minorities , for example, throughout the time, people seem to have differentiated between ‘the Jews’ or ‘the poles’ as groups.
What did eugenicisst beleive
Some concentration on the hereditary nature of disease and others did not, but the very way that eugenics brought scientist that think about people could lead a dangerous and racist thinking
In 1920 authors of a book called ‘ the release and destruction of Life devoid of value’ recommended ‘ mercy killing’ of certain defective human beings. This theory was an adopted by some people and applied to racial groups.
How much of the German population has the Jewish people taken up in 1918 to 1933. Where did these Jews live?
1918= around 1% of population
1933 = falling birth rate, meant only 0.76%
67% lived in the cities and around 33% lived in Berlin, which many antisemites called Jew Berlin
What effect and influence did Jews have in Weimar politics? How did people react to this?
Five Jews held cabinet post in the Republic, including Walter Rathenau now who became foreign minister in 1922.
Appointments left to criticism of the government for appointing Jews . Rathenau actually assassinated shortly after his appointment lead to government banning some anti-Semitic organisations.
What were the different anti-Semitic organisations?
Most aggressive of these was the German peoples defensive and defensive alliance. Had 25K members in 1919 and 170 K members when it was expanded in 1923, stated the Jews conspired with the allies and lost Germany. The war and many went onto join the Nazis when their party was disbanded.
How are Jewish people affected by the depression and what was public reaction to them?
People became more desperate and well looking for scapegoat. While the government was given good deal of blame, so were Jews.
Jewish organisations like Reich Federation of Jewish front soldiers were set up to fight anti-Semitism. The name is stressed for Germany in the war, but as the depression wasn’t more and more people turned to parties on the extreme left right with many of these being extremely anti-Semitic
How many Jews actually fought in the war and died for Germany?
85K Jewish soldiers had fought and 12 K died
Why were gypsies discriminated against?
They moved around a lot and didn’t contribute to the country by working or paying taxes so they were discriminated against
What actions had Bavaria taken in 1926 and 27 to control gypsies?
1926: past laws, against gypsies, mostly controlling movement, and aiming to get their children in schools and adults in work
1927: stated gypsies should carry identity cards
Hostility towards black people
Due to the French armies occupation of the Ruhr in 1923, black units from French colonies would mix with German people. From 1923 around 500 mixed race children were born and they were announced as ‘Germany Shame’.
