![Anti-Semitism: Why
3. A scapegoat for the political and economic problems
• At the time of Hitler's rise to power, Germany was experiencing great economic
hardship. A scapegoat had to be found: the Jews.
• The Nazis used Anti-Semitism as a propaganda tool in order to gain support for
their Party. The Nazis found so many willing adherents to the Nazi cause against
the Jews.
• ‘[Many Germans] were drawn to anti-Semitism because they were drawn to
Nazism, not the other way around. ‘ William S. Allen.](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/lesson11hitler-131010193944-phpapp02/85/Lesson-11-hitler-10-320.jpg)
Lesson 11 hitler
- 1. Lesson 11: Hitler’s Anti-Jewish Policies ‘I do not see why man should not be just as cruel as nature’ -Adolf Hitler-
- 2. Nazi ideology • Racism & anti-Semitism • Germany, possessed a feeling that their nation was superior to everybody else. • Nazi planned to move all ethnic Germans, who were citizens of other countries, into the Third Reich. • Racist ideas were in the form of the exclusion of undesirable individuals from the German race.
- 3. Undesirable individuals • mentally ill patients • the handicapped • homosexuals • Anti-social • 'Gypsies', including Roma and Sinti • Germans of African descent • Criminals • Political dissidents, trade unionists, and communists • Jews – the chief enemy
- 4. A racist Utopia The National Socialists’ goal- reshaping of existing society into a racially homogenous, 'Aryan' national community Unrealisable- WHY? 1. the 'races' existed only in the fantasy world of the Nazis. 2. The racial homogeneity they desired could only be created negatively, through discrimination, exclusion, eradication & killing those who did not fit into their perfect 'Aryan' society.
- 5. Anti-Semitism • ‘hatred towards Jews’. • Nazi leaders persecuted German Jews soon after their assumption of power. • 2,000 Nazi anti-Jewish decrees passed between 1933-1945. • Those laws were national ones. But state, regional, and municipal officials also promulgated regulation. • Thus, hundreds of individuals in all levels of government throughout the country were involved in the persecution of Jews as they discussed, drafted, adopted, enforced, and supported anti-Jewish legislation.
- 6. The Holocaust, 1941-1945 The Nazis murdered six million Jewish people, including 1,500,000 children. Between 1941 and 1945 ,6 million Jews fell victim to the Nazi persecution. This mass murder in history referred to as the Holocaust
- 7. Hitler and Mein Kampf • In the book Hitler argued that the German (the Aryan race) was superior to all others. • The races should not be mixed. • The ‘purity of the blood’ was a prerequisite for the greatness of the German people. • The Aryan's superiority was being threatened by intermarriage. • Aryan superiority was being threatened particularly by the Jewish race.
- 8. Anti-Semitism: Why 1. The “Stab in the back” theory - The Jews were responsible for losing the First World War. - The Treaty of Versailles was a betrayal planned by Jewish and socialist politicians - It was a conspiracy between Jewish capitalists in the allied countries that had financed World War I. - But 100,000 Jews fought in the German military
- 9. Anti-Semitism: Why 2. The ‘Jewish world conspiracy’ theory • Hitler believed the Jews conspired to take over the world. In this conspiracy, Jewish capitalists had joined forces with the Bolshevist socialism • As some of the most prominent German communists had been Jewish, Hitler believed Jews had created communism to destroy the Aryans. • But the German Jews were only about 1% of the population
- 10. Anti-Semitism: Why 3. A scapegoat for the political and economic problems • At the time of Hitler's rise to power, Germany was experiencing great economic hardship. A scapegoat had to be found: the Jews. • The Nazis used Anti-Semitism as a propaganda tool in order to gain support for their Party. The Nazis found so many willing adherents to the Nazi cause against the Jews. • ‘[Many Germans] were drawn to anti-Semitism because they were drawn to Nazism, not the other way around. ‘ William S. Allen.
- 11. Stages of Persecution , 1933-1945 Years Stages 1933-1934 The exclusion of Jews from public life 1935-1936 Biological segregation through Nuremburg Laws 1937-1838 Economic Exclusion 1938-1939 Mass Emigration The night of the broken glass 1939-1940 Euthanasia Malformed children and mental patients were murdered 1942-1945 ‘The Final Solution ‘ Mass murder in order to create additional 'living space' (Lebensraum)
- 12. The beginning…. Across Germany, small Jewish stores were painted with Stars of David or slogans ‘Don’t buy from Jews’. The Sturmabteilung (SA-private army of the Nazis) remained outside businesses. Later many shops and restaurants decided not to serve the Jewish population. "Jews not admitted“ The country Jews were banned from public parks, swimming-pools and public transport. 1 April 1933 - a one-day boycott of Jewish-owned shops
- 13. Nazi Anti-Jewish Laws, 1933-1934 April 7 The Law for the Restoration of the Professional Civil Service removes Jews from government service. April 7 The Law on the Admission to the Legal Profession forbids the admission of Jews to the bar. April 25 The Law against Overcrowding in Schools and Universities limits the number of Jewish students in public schools. July 14 The Denaturalization Law revokes the citizenship of naturalized Jews and “undesirables.”
- 14. The Nuremberg Laws, September 1935 1. The Reich Citizenship Law Article 2(1) A citizen of the Reich - ‘who is of German blood and who, through his conduct, shows that he is both desirous and fit to serve faithfully the German people and Reich.’ Article 2(3) ‘only the citizen of the Reich enjoys full political rights in accordance with the provision of the laws. ‘ 2. The Law for the Protection of the German Blood and Honour prohibited marriage between German citizens and Jews
- 15. How to define a Jew
- 16. How to define a Jew The announcement of the Nuremberg Laws generated heated debate as to how one should define a Jew. November 14, 1935 ‘First Decree to the Reich Citizenship Law’ Article 5: A Jew is anyone who is descended from at least three grandparents who were racially full Jews. Article 4: "A Jew cannot be a Reich citizen. He is not entitled to the right to vote on political matters; he cannot hold public office. It was based on the ‘blood’. The German Jews were unable to escape deportation by converting to Christianity.
- 17. Consequences of the Nuremburg Laws • Created the distinction between Jew and Aryan. • The state had a legally sanctioned right to discriminate the Jews. This became an important “prerequisite” for the later extermination of the Jews, who were no longer a part of the German community.
- 18. Economic Exclusion, 1938 The Nazi government eliminated Jews from German economic life. Preventing them from earning a living. Nazi laws banned Jews from certain occupations. - the government forbade Jewish doctors to treat non-Jews, - revoked the licenses of Jewish lawyers to practice law. Prohibited Jews from working alongside Aryans. This made it impossible for some businesses to retain or find workers.
- 19. ‘Aryanization’ of Jewish businesses • "Aryanization" meant the dismissal of Jewish workers and managers of a company and the takeover of Jewish-owned businesses by non-Jewish Germans. Jewish-owned businesses endured pressure, aimed at forcing them to close down or sell to Aryan Germans. Thousands of Jewish businesses were forced into closure or bankruptcy by this economic apartheid.
- 20. The Night of the Broken Glass, 9-10 Nov 1938
- 21. The Night of the Broken Glass, • 7,500 Jewish shops were destroyed • 400 synagogues (house of worship) were burnt down. • 91 Jews were killed • 20,000 were sent to concentration camps. • a reaction of the German people to the murder of a German diplomat by a young Jewish refugee in Paris. The whole event was in fact organized by the NSDAP.
- 22. More Anti-Jewish Laws November banned Jews from owning or operating any form of business expelled all Jewish children from public schools. restricted the freedom of movement of Jews. December cancelled all state contracts held with Jewish-owned firms. banned Jews to have own a car or a driver’s license expelled all Jewish academics, lecturers and students from universities
- 23. Mass Emigration After the ‘Night of the Broken Glass’ the numbers of Jews wishing to leave Germany increased dramatically. German policy officially encouraged Jewish emigration. 300,000 of Germany’s 500,000 Jews left the country between 1933 and 1941
- 25. Mass Emigration • Emigration to neighboring European countries (France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Denmark, Czechoslovakia, and Switzerland). • Most of these refugees were later caught by the Nazis after their conquest of western Europe in May 1940. • The sudden flood of emigrants in 1938 created a major refugee crisis. The Night of Broken Glass caused a flood of visa applications. • In 1941, Jewish emigration was forbidden. The number of Jews still in Germany - 163,000 - were murdered during the Holocaust.
- 26. Euthanasia, 1939 The Nazis initiated forced sterilizations of the hereditary ill Carried out euthanasia (mercy killings) on 200,000 mentally and physically disabled Germans. Physically and mentally disabled were killed by gassing and lethal injection Nazis borrowed the gas chamber and crematoria, to murder Jews in German-occupied Europe.
- 27. The ‘final solution’ Germany forced the Jews to immigrate but its territorial expansions kept bringing more Jews under its control. • Controlled Austria in March 1938 , • Controlled the Sudetenland in September 1938. Plans to deport all the Jews to the Poland, Siberia & Madagascar. Failed Germany invaded Poland in September 1939 (3 million Jews), the “Jewish question” became urgent. This led to Nazi plans for a solution to the ’Jewish Question’!
- 28. Systematic mass murder of Jews 3 million Jews died in six extermination camps (killing centres), situated in Poland. 1.5 million Jews, died in the concentration camps, the ghettos and elsewhere as a result of hunger, slave labour and executions. 1.5 million Jews were murdered in the occupied Soviet territories carried out by the four so-called Einsatzgruppen.
- 29. Extermination camps • In 1942, the comprehensive European-wide programme of systematic murder began. • six extermination camps were established with only one purpose: to exterminate the Jews. • Participants understood “evacuation to the east” to mean deportation to killing centres
- 31. Extermination camps July 1942 saw the first systematic deportations from Western Europe to Auschwitz (the deadliest) Gassing was the most common method of mass murdering People were subjected to a process of 'selection' - incapable of work - sent directly to the gas chambers - fit to work were separated • Women and children waiting to be gassed in Auschwitz-Birkenau extermination camp.
- 32. Concentration camps Thousands of concentration and slave-labour camps throughout German-occupied Europe. Purpose: detention centers for persons deemed to be of danger to the Reich, The Nazis introduced the concept of ‘working to death’ for the German war machine. Died of hunger, and disease.
- 33. Color ID in Concentration Camps
- 34. Mobile Killing Units (Einsatzgruppen) Task: murder of those perceived to be racial or political enemies found in the occupied Soviet Union Jews were transported by truck to the execution site, where trenches had been prepared. In some cases the captive victims had to dig their own graves.
- 36. The Diary of Anne Frank
- 37. Anne Frank’s Family • The diary was written in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, between 1942 and 1944. • The Franks were a Jewish family originally from Germany. Anne was born in Frankfurt, Germany in 1929. • When Hitler became chancellor of Germany in 1933, conditions for Jews deteriorated. • The Franks moved to Amsterdam, the Netherlands to escape Nazi persecution.
- 38. Living in Amsterdam • The family lived in relative peace until 1940, when Germany occupied the Netherlands. • Implemented strict anti-Semitic laws aimed at isolating the Jews from the rest of Dutch society. • Forced Jews to attend separate schools - Anne and her older sister, Margot, attended a Jewish school.
- 39. Anti Semitic Legislations in the Netherlands • required the registration of businesses operated by Jews • dismissed all Jewish civil servants • required all Jews to register • prohibited Jews from using public transportation • restricted from going outside (8pm-6am)
- 40. Anti Semitic Legislations in the Netherlands • permitted shopping only between 3.00 p.m. and 5.00 p.m • restricted from visiting Christian homes • prohibited from entering cinemas, cafés and theatres • Removed Jewish students from public schools and universities • blocked all Jewish assets • required Jews to wear yellow stars
- 41. The Yellow Star of David • Jews throughout Nazi-occupied Europe were forced to wear a badge in the form of a Yellow Star as a means of identification. • Jewish shops were also marked with a Yellow Star.
- 42. Deportation of Jews • From July 1942, Germany implemented a large-scale deportation of all Jews to Eastern Europe (labour camp). • Margot, Anne’s sister, was “called up” by the Gestapo (secret-police force). Being called up meant eventually being sent to one of the concentration camps. • Anne's family decided to go into hiding. The Frank family were kept alive with the help of their non-Jewish Dutch office workers.
- 43. Hiding in a secret annex, 9 July 1942 to 4 August 1944 The doorway into the Secret Annex, with the specially adapted bookcase.
- 44. Living in Fear They still know they are not completely safe from the Nazis. Their security depends on the cooperation of many different people outside the annex, as well as a good amount of luck and hope. Their fear grows each time the doorbell rings, there is a knock on their door, or they hear that there is a break-in at the office building. They hear reports from the outside world about their friends who are arrested. Anne knows what would happen to her and her family if they were discovered, and this fear that permeates life in the annex likewise permeates the tone of Anne’s diary.
- 45. Identity dilemma • The war causes Anne to struggle with her identity as both a German and a Jew. • She initially identifies herself with the Germans. She realizes that the Nazis no longer consider Jews to be Germans. (The Nuremburg Laws) • The adults in the annex likely share Anne’s confusion about their national and ethnic identity. Having lived in Germany for most of their lives, the Frank and the Van Daan adults have significant roots there.
- 46. Identity dilemma • Thirty years earlier, Anne’s father and other German Jews had fought for the German army in World War I. • However, the Nazi regime’s rise to power brought the painful realization that both Nazis and many other German people considered Jews foreign or different.
- 47. Religious dilemma • Peter (one of the resident in the annex) says that he is ashamed that he is Jewish and wants to separate himself from his past. He wants to make sure no one knows he is Jewish after the war. • Anne does not consider the possibility of converting to Christianity. Anne is proud that she is Jewish. • Two common but opposite reactions to the Holocaust: i) a strengthening of Jewish identification ii) a weakening of an association with Judaism.
- 48. Removal of all Jews to Extermination Camps In May 1943 the SS (Schutzstaffel) announced the removal of all remaining Jews in the Netherlands. Raids were carried out and 107,000 Dutch Jews were deported to extermination during the war. All Jews must be "cleaned out" of all German territories by July 1 1943.
- 49. Extermination Camps • They were then separated: children went with the women. • They were divested of their luggage and valuables • They took off their clothes and had their hair cut • Led them to the gas chambers. • Their bodies were burnt
- 50. "I've reached the point where I hardly care whether I live or die. The world will keep on turning without me, and I can't do anything to change events anyway. I'll just let matters take their course and concentrate on studying and hope that everything will be all right in the end.“ Anne - 3 Feb 1944 -
- 51. Increased fear of death, 1944 • Anne contemplates death more seriously. The possibility of the family being discovered only increases with time. • Anne begins to worry that she will not live to accomplish any of the things she hopes to, like writing a novel or pursuing her hobbies. • They are not sure when the war will end. • She wonders if it would not have been better to suffer a quick death rather than go into hiding. But she realizes that they all love life too much.
- 52. Gestapo found the secret annex • On 4 August 1944, Gestapo (secret police of the Nazis)raided the secret annex and arrested the eight Jews who had been sheltered there for twenty-five months. • They were taken first to a local police station, then to the transit camp at Westerbork and finally in September to the extermination camp at Auschwitz Birkenau. • Anne and Margot were sent to Bergen-Belsen.
- 54. The death of Anne Frank • Anne and Margot died of typhus at the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp in March 1945. • Their mother died of hunger and exhaustion in Auschwitz in January 1945. • The assistant in Otto’s office delivered the diary to Otto Frank, who had survived.
- 55. Interpretation of the ‘Final Solution’ 1. The Nazis planned the extermination of the Jews since their takeover of power in 1933. Proof: Mein Kampf, anti-Semitism and hatred of Hitler and many leading Nazis. The Nazis gradually, but systematically implemented their intention. The various phases of the holocaust were simply pursuit of the intention as opportunities arose.
- 56. Interpretation of the ‘Final Solution’ 2. The Nazis wanted get rid of all Jews from Germany; however, they had not decided how this would be done, Proof: Emigration from Germany, resettlement in the east and resettlement on Madagascar were all put forward as ‘solutions’. The Final Solution evolved out of a process of escalating brutality and evil