Persecution of the Jews

• Reasons Jews were hated


  • They did not fit into the Aryan vision
  • They were the lowest level of untermenschen
• Anti-Semitism


  Strong dislike of the Jews
• Jews in Germany were often associated with communism
• Many Jews were very wealthy and the Jews were blamed for the German defeat in World War One
• Anti-Semitism was popular in Germany amongst some people before the Nazis came into power
• This was why many of the German population did not question the persecution of Jews
• Persecution of Jews in Germany


  1. Boycott on Jewish businesses

  2. Nazis drew yellow stars on their doors to stop people going inside

  3. Jews who worked for the government were fired

  4. In 1936, it was forbidden for Jews to be professions such as a doctor, vet, accountant, teacher or nurse
• Nuremberg Laws


  Made anti-Semitism legal
• Nuremberg Laws


  • Reich Law on Citizenship stated that Jews were no longer allowed to be German citizens and lost their rights
  • Reich Law for the Protection of German Blood and Honour stated that Jews could not marry German citizens
• In 1939, Jews had to have a 'J' stamped on their passport and add Israel (for men) or Sarah (for women) to their name
• Kristallnacht


  The night of the broken glass, the first time the Nazis physically harmed Jews
• Kristallnacht attacks


  1. Nazis staged Kristallnacht in response to a Jew assassinating a German ambassador in Paris

  2. SS organised a series of attacks on Jewish communities

  3. They destroyed Jewish homes, businesses, and synagogues
• Kristallnacht was a turning point for Jews, as it made clear they needed to flee Germany to survive
• Holocaust

  The murder of around 6 million Jews in Nazi Germany
• Persecution of Jews escalated in WWII


  1. Jews began to be placed in ghettos

  2. Over 1,000 ghettos were built in Poland and the Soviet Union

  3. Many people died from starvation and disease in the ghettos
• Execution of Jews


  1. After Germans invaded Soviet Union, all Jews they crossed were killed by Einsatzgruppen

  2. By December 1941, Jews were being gassed at Chelmno death camp
• Final Solution


  Decision made at Wannsee Conference in January 1942 to murder all Jews
• 60% of Jews killed were killed after 1942, after the Wannsee Conference
• No one spoke out to help the Jews, many helped the Nazis or stood back and did nothing
• Many Jews and others did not know what happened at the camps, they took suitcases and bought their own train tickets to get to the death camps