Soon after the Nazis took power, they began taking rights away from Jews. Between 1933-1939, Jews in Germany felt the wrath of over 400 decrees and regulations that restricted their public and private lives. Hundreds of government officials in all levels persecuted the Jews. The Nazis showered the German people with anti-Jewish propaganda. All of Germany felt Hitler's hatred towards the Jews.
For example, in April of 1933, Germany passed a law that restricted the numbers of Jewish students at schools and universities. Jews were not permitted to intermarry with other races, and Jewish doctors were prevented from practicing on non-Jews. |
In 1935, Nazi persecution culminated in the Nuremberg Race Laws, two regulations that excluded Jews from German life. The first law, called Reichsburgergesetz (Law of the Reich Citizen), revoked German citizenship from all Jews. The second law, called Gesetz Zum Schutze des Deautschen Blutes und der Deutschen Ehre (Law for the Protection of German Blood and German Honor), forbade sexual relations and marriage between Jews and Germans.
The Berlin Olympic games in 1936 temporarily rescinded Jewish oppression. However, once the focus of the world press turned elsewhere, the unfair treatment of the Jews resumed. By 1934, all Jewish shops were marked with the yellow star of David or had the word "Juden" written in the window. The Nazi government required the Jews to register their property and prevented them from earning a living. By 1939, German authorities placed Jewish-owned businesses in Aryan hands. This was an attempt to economically destroy and impoverish the Jewish population. |
In November 1938, a Nazi diplomat was shot dead by a Jew in Paris. Once word got back to Berlin, the Nazis released a savage campaign against the Jews. Joseph Goebbels, German minister of propaganda, released an anti-Jewish speech that prompted many Germans to riot in Night of Broken glass or the Kristallnacht. Ten thousand Jewish shops were looted and destroyed. Jewish homes and synagogues were set on fire. The Jewish community was forced to pay a one billion dollar mark fine for the eventual clear up. When the Second World War started, Hitler would have more freedom to bring destruction to Jewish communities.
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As Germany conquered neighboring countries throughout Europe, Jews were expelled from their generational homes to live in Ghettos. By 1941, Jews were forced to where yellow badges that identified them as Jewish.
Ghettos
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It has been estimated that 1/5 of ghettos residents died, but this was not fast enough for the Nazis. So the Nazis devised Final Solution to solve the Jewish question.