THE PERSECUTION OF 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 GERMANY

  • They were blamed in part for the surrender of Germany during WW1
  • 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
• PERSECUTION OF JEWS

  • When Hitler became chancellor in 1933, persecution began
  • MAR: Nazi Party announced that Jewish businesses and professions such as lawyers and doctors would be boycotted.
  • APR: Jewish civil servants and teachers were sacked. MAY: Jewish works destroyed during the book burnings. SEP: Jewish people could no longer inherit land. OCT: Jewish people forbidden from working in Journalism
  • Children were taught in schools how to identify Jewish people + that they were unworthy of life
  • 1934, some councils banned them from parks and swimming pools
  • 1935, Jews couldn't join the army
• NUREMBURG LAWS, 1935

  • REICH LAW OF CITIZENSHIP - Required to wear a yellow Star of David to make them easily recognisable. Jews lost their German passport and could no longer vote. Jews lost their German citizenship
  • REICH LAW FOR THE PROTECTION OF GERMAN BLOOD AND HONOUR - Jews could not marry and have sexual relations with German citizens.
  • Anyone with 3 or 4 Jewish grandparents was considered Jewish, regardless if they practised Judaism
  • Many people who had converted to Christianity still faced persecution
  • 1938, Jewish people had to register their possessions and carry identity cards
• KRISTALLNACHT

  • 7th Nov 1938 - Grynszpan - a 17yr old - Polish Jew shot German diplomat Vom Rath in Paris. The 17yr old was angry that his family had been deported to Poland
  • 8th Nov 1938 - Goebbels used the attack to stir up hatred against the Jews, ordering police forces to attack synagogues in Hanover (Grynszpan's hometown)
  • 9th Nov 1938 - Vom Rath died in hospital, prompting Hitler and Goebbels to plan a nationwide attack on Jewish people. Police were told not to wear uniforms so that the attacks seemed public led.
• KRISTALLNACHT P2

  • 9-10th Nov 1938 - Groups of SA, Hitler Youth and non-uniformed gangs attacked Jewish communities. 100 people killed, 814 shops destroyed, 171 homes destroyed, 191 synagogues destroyed
  • 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 THE PERSECUTION OF THE JEWS?

  • 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