Jews in Germany in the

1930s
Avigayil Rosensweig
From 1914-1917 there was a war in Europe. Many countries fought with each other. It
was called the Great War, or World War I. Germany was on the losing side.

In the 1920s, an Austrian World War I veteran named Adolf Hitler became the head of
the National Socialist (Nazi) party in Germany. He wasnt happy about Germany losing
the War, so he looked for someone to blame. He blamed the Jews.

Less than 1% of Germans were Jews. Most of them were assimilatedthey were part of
German culture, and didnt think of themselves as especially Jewish. Many Jews had
fought for Germany in the World War and were very patriotic, but that didnt stop Hitler
from saying the Jews had somehow betrayed Germany and stabbed them in the back.

Hitler said that Jews had too much power, and that they wanted to destroy Germany. He
said Jews were the reason Germany was weak. He was lying, but people listened to
these lies. Germans found it easy to blame Jews, because they were seen as different.
Spreading information to try to change public opinion is called propaganda. Nazis
published many anti-semitic (anti-Jewish) posters and newspapers, including Der
Sturmer, which means the attacker.
Most people said that no one would listen to the Nazis, that they would never become
powerful. They were wrong. In 1933, Hitler became Chancellor of Germany.

Nazis began attacking Jews and anything owned by Jews. They encouraged people to
stop buying from Jewish businessesa boycott. They put up signs and graffiti on Jewish
businesses.

There were protests around the world against the Nazis attacking Jews, but that just
made things worse for the Jews of Germany. The Nazis blamed the Jews for the
protests.

On April 1, 1933, on a Saturday (the Jewish Sabbath), the German government made an
official boycott against all Jewish businesses. It lasted for one day.

On April 7, 1933, Germany passed the Law for the Restoration of Professional Civil
Services. It kicked all Jews out of government jobs. Until then, Jews were seen as a
religion, but this law defined Jews as a race. Conversion and assimilation wouldnt help.

On July 14, 1933 Germany passed the Law for the Repeal of Naturalization. All Jews
who became German citizens after World War I werent citizens anymore. This mostly
affected German Jews from Eastern Europe.

From April to December of 1933, Jewish teachers and students were kicked out of
German schools. Many went to Jewish schools.

In September of 1933, Germany passed the Nuremberg Laws. They had a few parts. The
Reichstag Citizenship Law said Jews werent citizens of Germany anymore. They didnt
have any rights. The Law for Protection of German Blood and Honor said Jews couldnt
marry non-Jewish Germans, or Aryans. The Nuremberg Laws also said Jews couldnt
fly the German flag. These laws had to come up with a definition for a Jew and a partial
Jew, or a mischling.

The Nuremberg laws made life very difficult for Jews in Germany. The Nazis wanted
Jews to leave Germany, but many countries didnt let large numbers of Jews in. Between
1933 and 1941, half of German Jews left Germany. In the beginning, many stayed
because they thought the situation would improve. Later, they had nowhere to go.

In 1933, Germany started a process called the Aryanization of Jewish businesses
making Aryans the owners of Jewish businesses. The process lasted through 1938. At
first, Aryanization wasnt an official law. There were attacks on Jewish businesses, an
unofficial boycott, and many Jewish employees were fired. In November of 1938, a law
was passed which said Jews had to sell or shut down their businesses by the end of the
year.


In the summer of 1939, Jews had to carry around their identity cards. All Jewish men had
to change their first name to Israel, and all Jewish women had to change their first name
to Sara.

In April 1939, Germany passed a law which said Jews could be kicked out of their
homes.

By the end of the 1930s, German Jews couldnt hide who they were.They couldnt hold
jobs, go to school, and werent allowed in many public places. They werent citizens and
didnt have any rights. Even if they wanted to leave Germany, they didnt have anywhere
to go. World War II hadnt even started yet, and things would only get worse.


Bradsher, Greg. The Nuremberg Laws: Archives Receives Original Nazi Documents that Legalized
Persecution of Jews. Prologue Magazine. National Archives and Records Administration, Winter 2010. Web.
<http://www.archives.gov/publications/prologue/2010/winter/nuremberg.html>.

Lichtenstein, Ruth, et al. Witness to History. Brooklyn: Project Witness, 2011. 24-61. Print.

Nazi Germany and the Jews 1933-1939: Rise of the Nazis and Beginning of Persecution. yadvashem. Yad
Vashem. Web. <http://www.yadvashem.org/yv/en/holocaust/about/01/persecution.asp>.

The Nuremberg Race Laws. The Holocaust: A Learning Site for Students. United States Holocaust
Memorial Museum. Web. <http://www.ushmm.org/outreach/en/article.php?ModuleId=10007695>.
Sources