Nazi Anti-Semitism and attitudes to ASocial Groups

Background information

• Hitler believed the Jews within Germany were partly to blame for the 'humiliation' of the German military defeat in 1918. 
• When Hitler became leader of the German Workers' Party, he vowed he would take revenge upon those people who had 'stabbed Germany in the back' and signed the Treaty of Versailles some years later.

Development

• Jews had been blamed for, and made the 'scapegoats' of many terrible events in history.
• They were seen as stateless people, forming a minority in many countries- often suffered from prejudice.
• Nazi Propaganda- made Jews the focus for problems that occured within Weimar Germany; including inflation, unemployment and economic crisis.
• Nazi anti-semetic propaganda was not that effective- less than 20% of Nazi Party members regarded anti-semitism as being a crucial issue. Hitler used anti-semitism for his own electoral end; he was FANATICAL and PRAGMATIST.
• Radical anti-capitalist Nazis were often encouraged to attack Kewish owners of department stores and banks.
• Many Jews believed once the Nazis were in power, they might curn anti-semitism and adopt more moderate policies.

Background

• In 1935, there were 750,000 Germans who were categorised as 'Part Jews'. There were 1.5 million, and made up 2.3% of the German Population, thus a large number of Jews would be affected by these Laws.

• Jews were categorised into three types; 'Jew', 'Part Jew'-first degree, and 'Part Jew'-second degree.

The Laws stood:

• 1. Marriages between Jews and citizens of German kindred blood are forbidden.

• 2. Sexual relations between Jews and nationals of Germans or kindred blood are forbidden.

• This termed applied to anyone who did not fit into the Volksgemeinschaft.
• 1938- ASocial were defined as vagabonds, gypsies, beggars, prostitutes, alcoholics, eccentrics, the work-shy and juvenile delinquents.
• Thousands were send to concentration camps and forced to wear badges that marked them out as being enemies of the state.
• They were 'unworthy people', who needed to be removed from society in the 'interests of the community'.

Gypsies

• Often detained from being put into camps, and put to work instead.
• Forced sterilisation took place of many gypsy women in attempt to prevent future generation of gypsies being born.

Homosexuals

• Deeply offended traditionally minded Nazis. They believed that homosexuality would 'threaten Germany's position in the world by resucing the country's birth rate'.
• 15,000 homosexuals were arrested and sent to camps, including members of the **, where they were made to wear pink trinagles on their clothes.

• Assassination of Ernst von Rath by a Jew, as a result of increasing radicalisation in the growth of anti-semitism on 7 November, gave the Nazi regime the opportunity to launch its first state-led persecution of the Jewish community.
• SA thugs and members of the NSDAP attacked and burned down Jewish synagogues throughout Germany.
• Jewish homes and businesses were also destroyed, while physical assalts were made on Jewish people.
• Overall, 91 synagogues were burned down and 36 Jews killed in Berlin alone.
• 7,500 businesses were burnt to the ground and 30,000 Jewish men were placed in concentration camps.

• Nazis tried to portray this event as a popular spontaneous reaction of outrage to Von Rath's death, however, Hitler never spoke publicly about it.
• Joseph Goebbels made a inflammatory speech in Munich on 9 November, which inspired the attacks on the Jewish Community. Goering inflamed the situation further by confiscating insurance payouts to Jews, so making them liable for the repair of damaged buildings created by the attack
• November 12- Goering fined the Jewish community 1 billion Reichmarks and issued the Decree on Eliminating Jews from German Exonomic life. This measure excluded Jews from any type of participation in the economic life of the Reich.

Hitler's Great set speech January 1939

• Hitler told the Czech foreign minister-'We are going to destroy the Jews. They are not going to get away with what they did on 9 November 1918'.

• He warned-'If international financial Jewry within Europe and abroad should succeed once more in plunging the peoples into a world war, this will result in the destruction of the Jewish race in Europe'.

Anti-Semitic aspects of Nazi Racial Policy

• The Nazi Racial Policy became a policy of extermination as Nazi control in Europe brought million of Jews under German rule between 1939 and 1941.

• War therefore opened up a new and more intense persecution of Jewish people.