Why did Nazi Policies towards the Jews and other minorities in Germany become increasingly harsh over the period 1933 - 39?

1934 was a relatively calm year for the Nazi anti - Semitism policy. Hitler continued to stabilise the economy and attended to the more important Nazi policies. In 1934 there was a round up of half a million vagrants who Nazis said showed an "unwillingness to work" and "gave offence to the community". The were divided into the orderly who were given work and the disorderly who were imprisoned in concentration camps and were forced to wear black triangles, thousands died in camps.

1935 was a turning point in the Nazi anti - Semitism policy. There was a resumption of unofficial attacks on Jews which lead to the government taking formal action and so The Nuremberg Laws were announced. The Law for the Protection of German Blood and German Honour forbade mixed marriages and sexual relationships between Aryans and Jews. The Reich Citizenship Law deprived Jews of German Citizenship. The Law for the Protection of Genetic Health of the German People meant that people had to have a medical examination before marriage.

The Olympic Games were held in Germany in 1936, this meant Hitler had to put his anti - Semitism policy and his policies against other minorities on hold. Anti - Jewish signs were taken down in Berlin. 1937 was also a relatively calm year for anti - Semitism as Hitler was focusing on building up a war economy. However in 1936 the Reich Central Office for the Combating of Homosexuality and Abortion was created and Himmler tried to establish a homosexual register. Homosexuals were another minority group which offended many traditional minded Nazis who thought they were unnatural. Himmler was particularly concerned as there was homosexuality in "good blood" in SS. In 1937 he ordered the homosexual officers would be sent to concentration camps. Eventually between 10 - 15,000 homosexuals were arrested and sent to camps were they were forced to wear pink triangles. Some were castrated and some became the object of medical experiments.

By November 1938 Nazi persecution of Jews had escalated. Kristallnacht or the Night of Broken Glass saw a series of anti - Jewish attacks. The attacks were said to be unofficially encouraged by officials and Police however many believed Goebbels the Minister of Propaganda was behind the attacks to secure his place in the Nazi Party. Thousands of Jewish businesses were attacked and synagogues burnt, 91 Jews were murdered in the attacks and 20,000 were sent to concentration camps. In 1938 Himmler issued a "Decree for a Struggle against the Gypsy Plague" and many were sent to camps.

By 1939 Hitler's idea of a pure Aryan race and a volksgemeinschaft was becoming more of a reality. Hitler had now introduced the euthanasia programme which dealt with any threat to his ideology and concentration camps were being more frequently used to deal with Jews and minority groups.

Overall I think Nazi policies towards Jews and minorities became increasingly harsh over the period 1933 - 39 because when Hitler became Chancellor he had to establish a strong leadership and re - establish the economy and these were his major minorities compared with anti - Semitism and asocials. But when Hitler had done this he had time to focus on Aryanisation and getting rid of miniroties and Jews who would endanger his master race. These people were unworthy people and needed to be removed via sterilisation and murder. Hitler had always planned to get rid of them it just took time.