Persecution of Minorities (Edexcel GCSE History)

Jewish Persecution Before the Second World War - Timeline & Summary

The Treatment of Minorities in Nazi Germany

• The Nazis aimed at making Germany as ‘strong’ as possible:

  • Policies towards women, children, the Church and culture were all to strengthen the state

• Their beliefs in eugenics and racial hygiene showed that they also wanted the German population to be strong:

What did Nazis believe about race?

• Hitler outlined his belief in a racial hierarchy in his book, Mein Kampf. Hitler stated that:

  • Aryans were the superior race - blonde, blue-eyed and athletic

  • Other white Western races were respected, but lower than Aryans

  • Races of Eastern Europe like Slavs were seen as Untermenschen (sub-humans)

  • Jewish people and Roma were considered unworthy of life

The Treatment of Minorities

• The Nazis persecuted a number of minorities throughout the 1930s:

Timeline of persecution against minorities

Slavs 

• Described as Untermenschen (sub-human) in schools

• Considered to be of a different origin from Aryan Germans

• The Nazis wanted to invade Slav countries like Russia to acquire Lebensraum (living space) for the German people

Roma 

• There were around 26,000 Roma in Germany in the early 1930s

• The Nazis did not believe they worked enough or contributed enough taxes

• They were not seen as racially pure

• To ‘clean up’ Berlin before the 1936 Olympics, Roma in Berlin were arrested and moved to Berlin-Marzahn concentration camp

Homosexuals 

• The Nazis believed that homosexuals lowered moral standards as they could not procreate or be part of a traditional family unit

• Laws against homosexuals became more severe after 1935

• Around 5,000 German homosexuals died in concentration camps

• Around 400-800 men were threatened with voluntary castration

People with disabilities 

• The Nazis believed that people with disabilities were a burden on society

• The Law for the Prevention of Hereditarily Diseased Offspring 1933 made it compulsory for people with varying disabilities to be sterilised

• Around 5,000 babies and children with severe disabilities were killed as part of the T4 Programme

Anti-Semitism in Nazi Germany

• Anti-Semitic feelings had been common for centuries:

  • Some Christians blamed them for the execution of Jesus Christ

  • Jewish people were blamed for starting the Black Death by poisoning water wells

  • Many people were jealous of Jewish people for their success in business and finance

• Anti-Semitism was strong in Germany throughout the 1920s and 1930s:

  • They were blamed in part for the surrender of Germany during the First World War

    • Some of the politicians who signed the armistice were Jewish

  • A myth existed that many communists were Jewish

    • Many Germans feared communism and, as a result, feared the Jewish community

  • Germany’s failings during hyperinflation and the Great Depression were often blamed on Jewish people

  • Many people - including Hitler - had been influenced by speakers like Karl Lueger, who spoke about the dangers of Jewish people

The Persecution of Jewish People in 1933

• There were only 437,000 Jewish people in Germany by 1933, less than 1% of the population

• When Hitler became chancellor in 1933, persecution against Jewish people began immediately:

Jewish persecution in 1933

• The Nazis used propaganda and censorship to target Jewish culture

• Children were taught in schools how to identify Jewish people and that they were Lebensunwertes (unworthy of life)

• More restrictions on Jewish people followed:

  • From 1934, some councils banned them from parks and swimming pools

  • From 1935, Jewish people could not join the army

The Nuremberg Laws, 1935

• The Nuremberg Laws of 1935 included two laws that drastically increased the persecution of all Jewish people in Germany:

The Nuremberg Laws

• Anyone with three or four Jewish grandparents was considered Jewish, regardless of whether they practised Judaism

  • Many people who had converted to Christianity still faced persecution

• From 1938, Jewish people had to register their possessions and also had to carry identity cards

The Events of ‘Kristallnacht’

• Persecution of Jewish people became much worse in November 1938 following an event known as ‘Kristallnacht’ (Night of Broken Glass):

‘Kristallnacht’ The Night of Broken Glass

• Jewish people were punished for causing ‘Kristallnacht’:

  • They had to pay a combined total of 1 billion marks to repair the damage

  • By 12 November, around 20,000 Jewish people had been sent to concentration camps like Dachau

How did People React to Jewish Persecution?

• After April 1939, all Jewish people were ordered to leave their homes and prepare to be deported from Germany

• The treatment of Jewish people was known by most German people from 1933-39:

  • Many people were horrified at the acts of violence and discrimination towards Jewish people but were scared to help because of groups like the SS and Gestapo

  • Other people took part in acts of persecution, like during the boycotts in 1933 and ‘Kristallnacht’ in 1938

  • Some chose simply to ignore the acts of violence or believed them to be justified