Germany 1933-39

Germany 1933-39

Persecution of the Jews
1. Anti-semitism - The background
  1. Jews stood out as different due to their religion, customs and looks
  2. Many Christians hated the Jews, blaming them for the execution of Christ
  3. Germans wrongly blamed the Jews for defeat in WW1
  4. Some jews were criticised for being communist rebels ( Kurt Eisner, leader of the communist rising in 1928)whereas others were frowned upon for being wealthy capitialists
2. Hitlers Views
  1. Firstly by setting them out in "Mein Kempf" Hitler proclaimed his racial views
    1. The Aryan race was the superior race. They were portrayed as tall,blond,blue-eyed and althletic. (Known as the Herrenvolk)
    2. Other races, such as the Slavs of Eastern Europe were seen as lesser races.
    3. Then there were the "Utermenschen", or sub humans; this included Africans.
      1. Worst of these were the "Lubensunwertes" which included the gypsies and Jews. These groups were deemded unworthy of life
3. Persecution starts
  1. As soon as they came to power in 1933, the Nazis official started to pass laws
    1. There were Nazi boycotts of Jewish businesses. Jews were banned from government jobs and from inheriting land
      1. In 1935, Jews were banned from restuarants and the army
        Nuremberg Laws (1935) tightened restrictions with Jews unable to vote, become a German citizen and even marry a german citizen
        In 1938 Jewish Doctors, Dentists and Lawyers were forbidden to work for the White aryan race. Jews also had to register all possessions and had to carry a German identity card
  2. Kristallnacht
    1. On the 7th of November 1938, a young polish Jew, Hershel Grynszpan, went into the German embassy in Paris and shot Ernst Von Roth, a German.
      1. Goebbels told Hitler and announced that if Germans took revenge the Government would do nothing to stop it. The result was a storm of attacks on the Jews
        On the 9 and 10 November 814 shops, 171 homes and 191 synagogues were destroyed. At least 100 jews were killed.
        The Jews were blamed and made to pay; they were fined 1 billion marks and banned from German schools or Universities. In 1939 the Reich office, the Jewish emigration centre was set up to rid Germany of Jews all together. Progress was slow so in April Jews were forced to leave their homes and move to Ghettos. Here they had to wait to be deported
Youth and Education
1. Schools
  1. New subjects such as race studies were taught. Mein kampf became a compulsory text. History lessons criticised communism and the Treaty of Versailles. Girls had different lessons concerning domestic application such as cooking which prepared them for later life.
    1. Teachers had to swear allegiance to the Nazis teachers league, lessons were always begun with the Nazi salute and "Heil Hitler"
2. Youth Movements
  1. Other youth activities were shut down, for instance churches, as the Nazis set up their own activities
    1. Boys
      1. Little fellows - aged 6
      2. Young Germans - aged 10
      3. Hitler youth - aged 14
    2. Girls
      1. Young maidens - aged 10-14
      2. League of German maidens - aged 14-18
    3. Both groups swore a loyalty to the Nazi party and often activities were completed together to encourage cooperation. However, domestic skills were mainly focused on with the Girls whereas boys were prepared for becoming a soldier
Women in Germany
1. 1920's
  1. Women over 20 were given the vote and were more likely to have successful careers. They were often paid on an equal basis with men. For instance there were 100,000 Female teachers by 1933
2. 1930's
  1. However the Nazis believed that like Germanys youth, they should serve their society. They were encouraged to be good-mothers.
    1. They had to stay healthy, learn house craft, cookery and needlework, marry and enable their husbands to be useful workers and stay at home and concentrate on domestic matters
      1. When the Nazis came to power, a number of these policies were driven by these ideas. The German workers Enterprise was set up to arrange classes and radio broadcasts, teaching good motherhood. Women were also encouraged to concentrate on the 3K's (or children, kitchen and church). Some professional were even forced to leave their jobs as lawyers, dentists etc.
3. Marriage and Childbirth
  1. The birth rate was falling in Germany and the Nazis wanted to reverse this.
    1. In 1933 the law for the encouragement of marriage was introduced. Loans of 1000 marks were provided for young couples to work ( 9 months wages), as long as the wife left work.
    2. SS men were also used to create genetically pure babies. Furthermore, the Mothers cross ( an award for the number of children had ) encouraged larger families with 4-5 bronze, 6-7 silver and 8 or more for Gold.
Work and unemployment
1. Hitler, who believed they disrupted the economy, banned Trade unions in 1933
  1. Therefore, the DAF was set up to ensure workers worked for the best interest of the Nazi regime (See textbook page 48)
    1. Although German workers lost their freedom to act collectively against employers, at least a minimum working standard was set up
2. Hitler hated unemployment because it was where communism thrived strongest.
  1. The RAD (National labour service) was set up which provided manual labour for the unemployed
    1. Rearament (see pg 49) In 1933, Hitler ordered his army generals to prepare to treble the size of the army to 300,000 men. He ordered the Air Ministry to plan to build 1,000 war planes. Military buildings such as barracks were built.
      1. Europe's reaction to breaking the treaty of versailles? Very limited as many countries were still recovering from the Great Depression

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