Nazi Anti-Semitism
Write an account of Nazi persecutions of Jews from 1933 to 1939 [15]
Write an account of the Night of Broken Glass in 1938 [15]
Why Did the Nazis Persecute Jews?
🗓️ Timeline: 1933–1939 – Persecution of the Jews
1933
1935
1936
1937
1938
1939
- Deep-rooted anti-Semitism: Hitler and many Germans blamed Jews for Germany’s problems — including defeat in WWI, the Treaty of Versailles, and the economic crisis.
- Hitler’s book Mein Kampf blamed Jews for weakening Germany and corrupting Aryan values.
- Nazis believed in racial purity — Jews were seen as a threat to the Volksgemeinschaft (people's community).
- Persecution helped unite Germans through a common enemy and distract them from other issues (like unemployment).
🗓️ Timeline: 1933–1939 – Persecution of the Jews
1933
- 🔹 April: Nationwide boycott of Jewish shops and businesses (organised by the SA).
- 🔹 April: Jews banned from civil service jobs, including teaching, law, and medicine.
- 🔹 September: Jews excluded from inheriting land.
1935
- 🔹 September: Nuremberg Laws introduced:
- ❌ Reich Citizenship Law: Jews no longer German citizens.
- ❌ Law for the Protection of German Blood and Honour: Banned marriage or sex between Jews and Aryans.
- ❌ Reich Citizenship Law: Jews no longer German citizens.
- Jews now officially seen as "subjects" of the state — not citizens.
1936
- 🔹 Olympic Games in Berlin:
- Persecution temporarily eased to avoid international criticism.
- Anti-Jewish signs taken down; Jewish athletes excluded from German team.
- Persecution temporarily eased to avoid international criticism.
1937
- 🔹 Jewish businesses increasingly taken over ("Aryanised") by non-Jewish Germans.
- 🔹 Jewish doctors and lawyers forbidden to treat Aryans.
1938
- 🔹 March: Germany annexes Austria (Anschluss) – 185,000 more Jews under Nazi control.
- 🔹 October: Around 17,000 Polish Jews expelled from Germany.
- 🔹 9–10 November – Kristallnacht ("Night of Broken Glass"):
- Organised attack on Jewish homes, businesses, and synagogues.
- Over 1,000 synagogues burned, 7,500 shops smashed, 30,000 Jews arrested and sent to concentration camps.
- Turning point: violence becomes state-sponsored and public.
- Organised attack on Jewish homes, businesses, and synagogues.
1939
- 🔹 January: All Jews forced to carry identity cards and have “Israel” or “Sara” in their names.
- 🔹 September: WWII begins — persecution becomes more extreme, leading toward the Final Solution (from 1941).
