State sponsored terror against Jews Custom Essay

State sponsored terror against Jews 1933-39

Terror in the Nazi state-  the SS and concentration camps

During 1933/1934 Nazi terror gradually more systematic, set up concentration camps, consolidated control over the police and security.

SS had existed since 1925, not until the Blood Purge of the SA in the night of the long knives that the SS became the main instrument of Nazi terror. SS took over concentration camps, by 1937 the police and security services, regular police and the Gestapo and the SD. Determined to make the SS a racial elite under Heinrich Himmler. Played a leading role in ideology and race policy.

Himmler – Involved in Artamane early 1920s, participated in 1923 Munich Putsch, led the SS since 1925.

SS grew into a massive bureaucracy. Members physically fit, disciplined and extremely well educated. Reinhard Heydrich head of the SD, Hermann Muller chief of the Gestapo and Adolf Eichman head of Dept of Jewish Affairs all skilful in building up the SS empire and its power.

Fear from SS led to Jews being isolated as non-Aryan. Neighbours broke off contact with Jews. Due to Block Wardens relaying information back to the SS.

1919 – 280 members

1933 – 50k members

1939- 240k members

1944 – 1mil+ members

The boycott and Kristallnacht

Violence that erupted was sometimes due to spontaneous actions, not under control of regime. Sometimes it was authorised by the regime as a deliberate tactic. I.e. boycott of Jewish shops/businesses in 1933 and Kristallnacht in 38.

The boycott of Jewish shops and business 1933

1^st April 1933 – Nazi’s imposed a boycott on Jewish shops and businesses.

-          Claimed to be a retaliation against Jews abroad who had called for a boycott of German goods. – Goebbels organised intense propaganda campaign to maximise the impact of the boycott. Carried out by brown-shirts. (SA) Stood outside and intimidated would-be customers.

-          Shops main target. Also applied to jewish doctors/lawyers. Court proceedings disrupted in Berlin and jew lawyers attacked and robes stripped from them. Same for doctors.

Boycott made a big impact. Featured a lot in news in Ger and other countries. Not an unqualified success. Unclear of what a jewish business was and wasn’t. Many were halfjewish/half german owned. Many citizens defiantly used Jewish shops to show their disapproval. Boycott abandoned after a day, SA hoped it would be permanent.

Showed Nazi violence a week after the Enabling Law. – Hitler was not enthusiastic about “revolution from below” – wanted to keep SA under control.

Some historians believe Hitler intended boycott to be brief. Main aim was to avoid instability while he carried through his “legal rev”. Was willing to allow a considerable degree of Nazi intimidation.

Kristallnacht, nov 1938

The Night of Broken Glass. 9^th/10^th November. Jewish homes/business looted and vanadlised. Synagogues set alight. Thousands of Jews arrested/beaten up and killed.

An uncontrolled pogrom of anti-Semitic feeling. Became a concern with the uncontrolled violence however, Hitler ordered Goering to “sort things out” similar to april 1^st 1933 and the SA boycott

Was meant to look like the public uprised, but it was actually nazi’s and most involved were SA and SS men instructed not to waer uniform. Used Ernst von Rath’s murder as an excuse (Killed by a Polish Jew)

Instigator was Goebbels – Gave instructions to organise violence and vandalism and make it look like the Nazi party was innocent. 9^th Nov was 15^th anniversary of the 1923 Munich Putsch – Goebbels wanted to make Hitler proud.

91 Jews killed, thousands injured. Looting of money, silver, jewellers and art. Millions of RM in damage. Orders from SS to the police to not intervene and 20-30k Jews in “preventative” detention. Fire brigades watched synagogues burn, concerned of it spreading to other buildings not owned by Jews.1929

Some citizens joined in the violence/looting but many were horrified. Leipzig “silent crowds”

Many new that the violence was organised and not spontaneous.

“Decree for the Resotration of the Street Scene” – ordered Jews to pay 1billion RM in compensation for disruption to the economy. The town of Zeven, with 28 Jews, had the synagogue burned under Gestapo orders Nov 10 1938. Male Jews deported to Sachsenhausen.

Aryanisation of the Economy

-          Part of a wider aim to enforce –Social conformity, Racial purity

Nazi’s aimed to remove the “Jewish burden” from economy.

-          Strip the community of wealth

-          Designed to force them to emigrate

-          (could not take their money with them)

Jewish property registered, ownership of Jewish businesses was replaced with Aryan owners.

Isolated them from all economic activity.

Hitler attacked Jewish ownership of Businesses in his Nuremberg speech 1937

-          Pressured them to sell “voluntarily” to Aryan firms at poor prices.

Economy had recovered since the wallstreet crash – Ger business wanted to expand and eliminate jewish competition and the allocation of raw materials secured in German hands.

December 1937 – Goering reduced foreign exchange and raw material quotas for Jews

March 1^st 1938 – Banned public contracts to Jew businesses

April 1938 – Decree for the Registration of Jewish property over the value of 5,000 RM introduced

Anschluss led to “orgy” of confiscations of Jewish businesses in Austria. Inspired Goering to increase rate of Aryanisation in Ger

Losing businesses was traumatic and humiliating to Jews who felt they could not support themselves or their families. – Did this to separate Jews from mainstream society and encourage emigration and grab valuable assets to make up for the Four Year Plan’s consumer goods reduction. All aims were achieved.

April 1938 – 39,532 Jew businesses in ger.

April 1939 – 14,803 closed, 5,976 dejewified + 4,136 in process and 7,127 under investigation

From Jan 1^st 1919 – Jews could not run retail shops, mail order houses or work as indie traders or sell at markets/fairs.

Discrimination

14^th July 1935 – anti Jew demos at Heigenbruken pool. 15-20 bathers demanded Jews be removed by chanting. – Bavarian Police report 1, August 1935 – “Resuletd in mayor banning them from using pools”

Pubs set up signs (mostly to keep nazi offiials happy)

Herzefled banned from his artists club restaurant and spa.

Most germans embarrassed by discrimination

Felix Mendelssohn statue protected, opposition to discrimination rare though, kept heads down low.

Localised social discrimination was occurring from 1933 but received governemtn backing by 1938 and 39 .- Disregarded international opinion. Lead to more radical anti-semitic ideology.

Racial hygiene policies

Nazi’s obsessed with “selective breeding”

-          Prevent mixing of Jew + Aryan blood

-          Racial engineering – Sterilisation of degenerate offspring producers

-          “Eugenics” – Race/grp of people can be improved through selective breeding – Sir Francis Galton (Darwin’s cousin)

-          Eugenicists suggested interventions were necessary with;

-          Handicapped, deformities, homosexual etc stopped through family planning, sterilisation and euthanasia

-          Sterilisation not new, Prussias baby sterilisation law.

Nazi propaganda flaunted ‘wasted’ money used to care for handicapped people.

Films promoted eugenics also ; Erbhrank, Victim of the Past (shown in 5k cinemas)

Moral + religious criticism however, Samuel Beckett mocked the ideology.

During the 3^rd Reich 400k Sterilized.

June 1933 – Law for the prevention of Hereditary diseased progeny

-          Included Schizo’s, epileptics, blind, deaf etc.

-          Amendments permitted children 10+ to be permitted and 14 years with no legal rep.

-          Most judges strongly in favour

-          Operation by force if necessary.

-          “Moral insanity” for criminals was coined to kill them by euthanasia.

1939 – SS began preps for secret earth programme “Aktion T4”

Some Legislation targeted at Jews

April 1933 – Kosher ritual slaughter of animals banned

Throughout 1934 – Jewish students excluded from exams in medicine, dentistry, pharmacy and law

31 May 1935 – Non-Aryans not eligible for military service

15 Sept 1935 – Nuremberg Laws deny many civil rights.

15 Oct 1938 – Jews’ passports stamped with a red “J”

1937 – Jews forbidden to use the Heil Hitler greetin

17 July 1942 – Blind or deaf jews no longer allowed to wear armbands identifying their condition in traffic

April 3 1936 – Jews expelled from being vets.

Oct 15 1936 – Riech Ministry of Eduction bans Jews from teaching in public schools

November 29 1938 – Reich interior ministry forbids jews to keep carried pigeons

August 1^st 1939 – Jews can not buy a lottery ticket