Slide 2 What was the wider German population's response to
rising antisemitism 1933-9? Slide 3 The Nazis came to power in
1933, with Hitler as their leader. The party held strong antiemetic
values, and had drawn votes, partially by scapegoating the Jews as
someone to blame for all of Germanys problems. Slide 4 On 1 st
April 1933 there was a boycott of Jewish shops and businesses in
Germany. Hitler claimed that this was a justified retaliation
against Jewish interests in Germany, yet also retaliation abroad to
those who had called for a boycott of German goods. Goebbelss
intensive propaganda campaign maximised the impact of the boycott,
run by SA men. They stood outside the Jewish businesses and
intimidated customers. The boycott was widely publicised but was
not an unqualified success. It was difficult to judge exactly what
a Jewish business was and what was not. A number of German citizens
also used Jewish shops to show disapproval of Nazi policies. Many
Germans also wished to continue to use the Jewish shops that they
had used for years. In fact it was abandoned after one day, and
didnt stay in force indefinitely as many SA had intended. Slide 5
Der Strmer was a (non-official) Nazi racist publication, which was
often pornographic. Sales increased steeply in 1935, coinciding
with the Nuremburg laws. A deal with the German Labour Front meant
a copy was displayed in every work place, which made it difficult
to ignore, even if most Germans knew it contents were largely
exaggerated of false. This hate-filled, repetitive antisemetic
propaganda made the process of dehumanising the Jews much easier.
Slide 6 The sign reads Jews are not wanted here. This shows simply
how public discrimination was normality, and prevented Jews from
doing everyday activities in peace. Slide 7 The Nuremburg Laws were
put into place in 1935. The Reich Citizenship Law meant that
someone could only be a German citizen if they had purely German
blood. Jews and other non-Aryans were left classified as only
subjects so consequently has fewer rights than citizens. The law
for the Protection of German blood and honour was also introduced.
So called intermarriage between Jews and Germans was forbidden, as
were sexual relations. Further conditions meant Jews were not
permitted to employ female German citizens under the age of 45 as
domestic workers. This was deeply humiliating. Jews could also not
display the Reich or national flag. Despite the Nuremburg laws
being unfair and humiliating, many Jews put up with them or even
welcomed them in a way, as they thought the laws would ease the
violence towards them. Slide 8 The scientific chart shows the Nazi
classification system of racial characteristics. This shows that
the Nazis preached their views as undeniable facts. Slide 9 It also
shows that the intricate Nazi ideology spread into schools, with
subjects such as eugenics and race science replacing biology.
Specific ideas about what constituted a Jew were also taught. Slide
10 In 1936, Berlin hosted the Olympic Games. Hitlers aim was to
create a positive foreign impression as a strong, modern nation.
Antisemitism was far from inkeeping with the role, so antisemetic
messages were scrubbed away. This showed that antisemitism could be
stopped (and after the games restarted) started on demand of
Hitler. Slide 11 In March 1938, Jews were forced to scrub the
streets of Vienna after the Anschluss with Austria. This was
humiliating and degrading for the Jews, and showed that
antisemitism was reaching wider areas with a greater Jewish
population as Germany gained more land. Slide 12 The picture shows
a 17 year old Herschel Grynszpan, who walked into the German
embassy in Paris and shot the third secretary, Ernst vom Rath, to
avenge the killing of his Polish Jewish parents in Germany. Hitler
saw this shooting as a valuable opportunity to rise in bloody
vengeance against the Jews. It provided an excuse for the
antisemitic pogroms launched the following nights. Krystallnacht
Slide 13 Between 1933 and 1938, Jews were subjected to increased
prejudice and persecution, but it was still possible for a Jews to
live a fairly normal existence. All this changed on Krystallnacht
(the night of the broken glass) on the 9 th to 10 th November Slide
14 Jewish homes and businesses were looted and vandalised, and
thousands of Jews were arrested, beaten up and killed. The Nazis
said it was an uncontrolled outpouring of antisemetic violence,
where the national soul has boiled over. In reality, it was likely
to have been orchestrated by the Nazis, and the majority of the
perpetrators of the violence were likely to have been SS and SA
men, told to avoid wearing uniform. There were also some ordinary
citizens who joined in the violence and looting. Slide 15 In the
violence, 91 Jews were killed and thousands were injured. Damage to
shops and businesses amounted to millions of marks, and much of the
vandalism was purely destructive, not for gain. 20000 to 30000 Jews
were placed into preventive detention. Silent crowds of local
people were said to be benumbed and aghast at the sight of a burned
out synagogue and looted shops the next morning, suggesting they
didnt condone the violence, and understood it was not spontaneous,
and organised by the state. Slide 16 In 150,000 Jews left Germany
between March 1933 and November 1938. The confusing fact is that
the Nazis were both encouraging Jews to emigrate whilst also
threatening to confiscate their assets. This contradictory policy
made it difficult for Jews as they were stripped of their wealth
making immigration unaffordable. Many, often those with
transferable skills and family members in other countries chose to
leave, while many Jews still felt thoroughly German and wanted to
stay. Some foreign countries also didnt appreciate large numbers of
Jewish immigrants and put barriers in place. The situation became
more urgent and obvious after Krystallnacht, and parents became
increasingly keen to get their children out of Germany. 9000 Jewish
children were sent to Britain in 1938-1939. Slide 17 The bench
reads nur fr Juden! meaning only for Jews. This shows their
prolonged segregation in Germany society at that time. Slide 18
This shows a public telephone. Jews were openly forbidden from
using this. Slide 19 Hitlers speech in the Reichstag on 30 th
January 1939 is the climax of the eternal Jew. From this point
onward the ultimate aim of Hitler to annihilate the Jews becomes
blatantly clear. Europe will not have peace until the Jewish
question has been disposed of. The world has sufficient capacity
for settlement, but we must finally break away from the notion that
a certain percentage of the Jewish people are intended, by our dear
God, to be the parasitic beneficiary of the body, and of the
productive work, of other peoples Jewry must adapt itself to
respectable constructive work, as other peoples do, or it will
sooner or later succumb to a crisis of unimaginable proportions. If
the international finance-Jewry inside and outside Europe should
succeed in plunging the nations into a world war yet again, then
the outcome will not be the victory of Jewry, but rather the
annihilation of the Jewish race in Europe! Slide 20 By 1939, Jews
could no longer lead a normal life, and antisemitic views were held
by Hitler's followers. Antisemitism penetrated into every part of
life. Germany was no longer the best possible homeland for a Jew,
and continued assimilation of the Jews was no longer. Antisemitsm
was no longer on the fringes of politics. It was at the heart of
many normal Germans. Bethany Wiles
