How were the Jews treated in 1933-1939 Germany?

In 1933 January 30th Adolph Hitler is appointed Chancellor of Germany, By 1934 Hitler was in full command of Germany. What would follow in his rule would be considered be the persecution and hate campaign of Jewish people, it continued until Hitler was eventually killed. Today it is still recognized as one of the biggest genocides crisis in history.

Before Hitler came to power Jews lived peacefully in Germany, there were considered German and played a important part of their economy with many businessmen Jewish, However when Hitler came to power he wanted to isolate the Jews of the economy. At first Hitler had used anti-semantic campaigns to convince the German people that buying from Jewish businesses was wrong, however very few people did anything, instead they continued as usual. Hitler seeing how the campaign had little effect, shut boycotted all Jewish business on the 1st of April 1933. This resulted in a massive number of Jews living poverty. What followed was Jewish people having absolute no chance of obtaining any possible job. They also lost there life savings with the Germans seizing their personal assets. As the Jews were becoming less useful in the economy, the German public on gradually began to shift its views towards Hitler. On November the 9th the German public finally showed that they were anti-semantic. What followed during that night was known as Kristallnacht (Night of Broken Glass). In that night Jewish businesses were attacked by the German public, windows were smashed, buildings were set alights, and countless were injured and hurt. After the destruction 20,000 Jewish men were rounded up and sent to concentration camps.

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As the public grew more restless of the Jewish people, more laws and exceptions were designed to humiliate them. One of them main idea for the treatment race was that Germany was a more superior race than others. The name for them was Aryan. German believed that Aryans were the greatest race on earth and how they are superior to any other race. There ideal Aryan was Blonde hair and Blue Eyes; however during there research they made claims the appearance and mental mind of Jews. As we all know Jewish are no different people they have no special characteristic. However the German believed that Jewish people were ugly and grotesque and had mental disabilities. They published there results to the public and this began a whole web of lies and discrimination. Hitler had pulled out all stops to separate Aryans from the Jewish; he was disgusted by the idea that some Aryans actually were friends of Jews. Children were often humiliated in front of class with teachers and pupils taunting them. Eventually Jewish were banned from Aryan schools. Jews were banned from all forms on entertainment such at Cinemas and concerts as well as buying magazines and newspapers. Passports owned by Jews had to have the Letter J Stamped one, later they had to wear a J stamped on their clothing. This was to spot Jews more easily in crowds and houses. One of the vital laws that were constructed was the Nuremburg Race Laws in 1935. The Nuremburg race stated that Jews were unable to gain citizenship and they were prohibited from marrying or having sexual relations with Aryans. Jews who did not possess recognizably Jewish names, males were forced to add Israel whilst females added Sarah to their name. The aim of Hitler was to drive the Jews out, not to murder them. The Jews who wanted to flee were not permitted to bring personal belongings or valuables. The Jews fled to a variety of countries, some went to Europe and the East, but the majority went to Palestine. In the summer of 1938 the Evian Conference in France, where the World Leaders had met and agreed that there had to be a limit of the amount of Jews immigrating. The Reich Central Office for Jewish Emigration was set up by SS coordinator for the Holocaust Adolph Eichmann; This Office prepared the list of people to be conscripted. The office had records of personal details for every Jew registered.

Propaganda played a massive part in the persecution of Jews. It was vital to convince the German public of Hitler’s anti-semantic views. The person in charge of propaganda was a man called Josef Goebbels. To spread Hitler’s word Goebbels used every sort of communication for Radios to Papers. Propaganda films were not uncommon and always showed the Jew as the villain. All local radio stations were united under the Reich Radio Company. Thousands of people owned them and there were usually huge speakers in town squares. Newspapers were also in the control of the Nazis, anti-Nazi papers were shut down with remaining telling lies to enrage the German public. They also put banners encouraging the Jews to leave, however during the Olympic Games in Berlin, many anti- Jewish signs were taken down to avoid the attention from the rest of the world.

Conclusion

When Hitler was elected chancellor of Germany in 1933 a time of depression was at hand for Germany, What followed would be one of histories darkest periods. Before Hitler, the Jews had lived a peaceful life with the Germans. There was no propaganda, concentration camps, or death camps. Jewish children played happily with German children, Jewish people owned successful businesses, and mix couples of Jewish and German were happily married. Sadly this stopped being a reality and ended being nothing more than a dream after 1933. Hitler’s rise to power and hateful views had inspired a nation to change. One man could change the way Jew’s life forever. What followed was a hate campaign designed to drive the Jews out of Germany, this led on for Hitler’s dream to slaughter every Jew in Europe. Rich or Poor, Young or Old it didn’t matter. In less than a decade a decade more than 6 Million Jews were murdered. Either by Death squads, Gas Chambers or any other form of torture they were killed. Even today the survivors and relatives still grieve for there loved ones who did not survive. Today there is little chance that this could ever happen with the current World Laws, but let us understand it only took one man with ideas to change Germany and the World Forever, it took one man to convince a country that they were superior; it took one man to take the lives of over 6million Jews, and it took one man to start one war, which would be the death of over 56million people.

By Peter Lam