- The Reich Citizenship Act which said that no Jew could vote or be elected to a government post. Jews were stripped of the right to be citizens of Germany.
- The Law for the Protection of German Blood and Honour. Jews were defined as anyone with a Jewish grandparent, and forbidden to marry or have sexual relations with German citizens.
The second of these two laws showed an important difference between the Nazis’ anti-Semitism, and how Jews had been persecuted before. The Nazis said that the Jews inherited their evil from previous generations and the evil was present in Jewish blood, whereas in the past Jews had been persecuted because of their religion. This difference was important because it meant the Jews could do nothing to escape persecution. In the past they had been able to save themselves by becoming Christians.
In 1936, things became a little easier for the Jews because the Nazis hid all signs of persecution while the Olympic Games were being held in Berlin. But when the Games had finished, the Nazis returned to their persecution. In 1937, on secret orders from Heydrich, Jewish women who had had sexual relations with German citizens were sent to concentration camps.
But it was the year 1938 when things were made even worse for the Jews. One reason for this was that the Third Reich was now united with Austria and the Nazis found they had many more Jews in their population. They were determined to deal with this ‘problem’. All Jewish parents had to add the name ‘Sara’ to their daughter’s name and ‘Israel’ to their son’s. All Jewish doctors and other professional people could only do business with other Jews.
In November the persecution reached its height. A German embassy official was murdered in Paris by a young Jew. Immediately the Nazis organised a massive attack on Jewish shops, homes and synagogues. About 100 Jews died in SA attacks, and thousands of Jewish properties were destroyed. This event became known as Crystal Night because of all the broken glass on the German streets. Over 30,000 Jews were arrested and sent to concentration camps. The Nazis claimed it was an outburst of anger by ordinary people. In reality, however, it was organised by Goebbels.
The persecution continued after Crystal Night. Goering confiscated all Jewish businesses, selling them cheaply to German businessmen. Jewish children were banned from German schools and universities. Jews were encouraged to emigrate, but without any of their possessions.
Why didn’t the Jews do something? This was difficult. Despite what the Nazis said, the Jews were a small percentage of the population (only 1%). Also, many Jews thought if they kept quiet then the persecution would, as it always had done in the past, go away. They were not to know the horrors that awaited them after 1941.
The Gypsies were also persecuted by the Nazis. They were targeted because they were not Aryans and because of their travelling lifestyle. They were made to give up their travelling and were eventually exterminated like the Jews.
The Nazis also persecuted Aryan Germans. Those who were mentally ill, were considered a threat to the purity of the Aryan race. The first step was to sterilise such people. Once the war had begun it was decided that the mentally ill were a drain on resources and some 30,000 were murdered. Tramps and beggars were rounded up and put into forced labour. Homosexuality was despised by the Nazis despite the fact that there were many homosexuals in the SA, including Roehm himself. Those outside the protection of the SA were arrested by the Gestapo and sent to concentration camps, where they were made to wear pink badges.