1938. A store owned by a Jew, destroyed by Nazis. Many others were also destroyed.

Anti-Semitism in Nazi Germany (Adapted from Discovery Techbook)

Anti-Semitism refers to opinions or actions that discriminate against Jews. During the Middle Ages, many Europeans persecuted Jews because they did not believe in Jesus Christ. This persecution took the form of violent attacks and the creation of Jewish neighborhoods called ghettos.

During the 1920s, Germany suffered from the harsh terms of the Treaty of Versailles. Strongly influenced by anti-Semitism, Hitler stated that Jews caused the many problems Germany faced.

The Nuremberg Laws After Hitler became Chancellor (similar to president) of Germany in 1933, he ordered the persecution of Jews. At first, Hitler ordered German citizens to boycott Jewish-owned businesses. He also banned Jewish citizens from some opportunities, such as jobs in government, banking, and medicine. Hitler and his Nazi Party also approved the Nuremberg Laws on

September 15, 1935. These laws defined Jews as a race instead of a religious group. Anyone would lose their German citizenship if they had more than two Jewish grandparents. They could not marry non-Jews. They didn’t have political and civil rights. Hitler and the Nazi Party also distributed propaganda that influenced many Germans’ opinions of Jewish citizens. Kristallnacht and the Emergence of Concentration Camps Kristallnacht, which means “Night of Broken Glass,” refers to a period of violence against Jews on the night of November 9, 1938. The violence started on November 7, 1938, after a Jewish student killed a German diplomat. When Hitler heard of the killing on November 9, he announced that the Nazi party would not take any formal actions against Jews, but would not stop any “spontaneous” actions. That night many local Nazi leaders and supporters organized violent attacks against Jewish communities in Germany and Austria. Nazis burned

synagogues (the temple of the Jews), stole Jewish-owned businesses, and destroyed Jewish homes. The German police received instructions not to stop these violent acts, and firefighters did not respond to control the fires at synagogues and other Jewish places. This night marked a turning point in the treatment of Jews in Germany. Soon, the Nazi government banned Jewish children from attending school, German Jews could no longer have automobiles, and then they were banned from most public places in Germany.

Picture showing Jews being burned alive in Europe during the Middle Ages.

1933. Hitler became Chancellor (president) of Germany.

1935. Hitler talking to the Reich (Congress) to approve laws against Jews.

Nazi propaganda used to show Jews as evil people and enemies of Germany.

1938. Nazis also destroyed many synagogues (Jewish temples). This was one of them.

Many persecuted Jews were sent to concentration camps—prisons where the Nazis put people they considered disagreeable. The Nazis started to build concentration camps in 1933. At these camps, Nazi soldiers forced prisoners to perform hard labor and live in extremely harsh conditions, causing thousands of them to die of disease and starvation. What was the Holocaust?

The Holocaust was the Nazis’ systematic persecution and murdering of European Jews. The Holocaust was an act of genocide. The German government organized the Nazis’ program of genocide. The SS, a Nazi paramilitary organization, carried out this program. The Nazis also persecuted and murdered millions of people of other groups who they viewed as disagreeable. These included Roma (Gypsies), people with mental and physical disabilities, Slavs, gay people, Jehovah’s Witnesses, and communists. The Nazis also killed three million Soviet prisoners of war.

Because of its anti-Semitism during the 1930s, the Nazis implemented policies to eliminate the Jewish community from German society. Then, as Nazi Germany conquered other countries during World War II, more and more Jews came under German control. The Nazis relocated Jews from those countries to concentration camps. During this time, the SS organized death squads. The death squads followed German troops into conquered territory and shot Jews who had been taken prisoner. Eventually, the Germans created killing units that traveled to the camps and executed groups with poisonous gas. The “Final Solution”

By the spring of 1942, the Nazi leadership created a program called the “Final Solution.” This program consisted in killing Jews and other citizens faster. Nazi extermination camps were located in Poland which was controlled by Nazi Germany. The two largest camps were near the towns of Auschwitz and Treblinka. At these camps, SS soldiers separated physically fit prisoners from those they determined to be ill. The physically fit prisoners had to do hard labor for long hours.

The Nazis sent the other prisoners, including children and the elderly, into gas chambers, 2,000 at a time. Then, they poured poisonous gas into the chambers. The gas killed the people in 20 to 30 minutes. After this, soldiers shaved the heads of the cadavers, took gold fillings out of their teeth, and then cremated, or burned, the cadavers. During the Holocaust, the Nazis murdered about six million Jews in total, or about two-thirds of Europe’s Jewish population. The Nazis also killed about five million people from the other groups they considered disagreeable. It was a catastrophic event for humanity.

Nazis sent millions of Jews to concentration camps to live in terrible conditions.

Cadavers of Jews in a concentration camp.

Russia. A Jewish mother trying to protect her child from the Nazi soldier who killed them both. .

This is one of the most horrific concentration camps: Auschwitz.

Interior of a gas chamber. We can see a memorial in honor of those who died here.

Nazis killed anybody they considered disagreeable, even little children.