1

In Germany in the 1930’s, Adolf Hitler brought pre-existing

anti-Semitism to a horrific level. Hitler took a more extreme

view of previous beliefs and acted in a far more radical way. The

reality of anti-Semitism and the belief that other groups were

inferior to the so called “true” Germans had been around for a

very long time. When it comes to World War II and the Holocaust,

it was in many ways the largest systematic destruction of a

certain group of people in modern history. In his actions, Hitler

followed through on the anti-Semitic feelings of many Europeans.

Jews have faced hatred throughout history. Their experiences

in ancient nations were no different. During ancient times when

the Jews were pushed out of the Holy Land by the Babylonians many

tried to adapt into the cultures of the land to which they were

exiled.1 They could be seen in their own communities in the

Babylonian Empire and then during the time of Greek domination of

the Holy Land they could be seen in their homes of Spain, France,

and also North Africa.2 They also had difficulty facing the

dominant armies of empires such as Syria, Rome, Greece, and

1 Martin Gilbert. “Israel Dispersed,” In Exile and return: the struggle for a Jewish homeland, (Philadelphia: Lippincott, 1978), 3-4.2 Ibid., 3-4.

2

Carthage, but they were able to regain independence in 168 BCE.3

This shows the ability of the Jewish people to adapt to their

situation in society. But they were still being oppressed because

they were not being allowed to be in the Holy Land, and the

Temple had been destroyed during the Babylonian rule, though it

would be rebuilt at a later time.

Jews have been forced out of many societies and rarely had

an easy time in staying in one location. It was difficult for the

Jewish communities because they faced economic discrimination,

along with renewed persecution and expulsion from the places they

had settled.4 The expulsions would continue through the Middle

Ages. In certain areas which were eventually controlled by Muslim

powers Jews were able to prosper, but in others they were not as

fortunate. Muslim Spain was considered a “golden age” for Jews,

but there were many other places including the Holy Land where

Jews had to take second place.5 It is very interesting to note

the differences in treatment of Jews, because the time period

surrounding the occupation of Spain by Muslims included times of

3 Ibid., 5.4 Ibid., 5.5 Ibid., 9.

3

great Holy Wars between faiths. This tough attitude by Jews in

response to ill treatment was going to be very important during

the Holocaust, because it took very strong people to be able to

resist the oppression of the Nazi regime.

In the Middle Ages and Renaissance, starting around the

early 1500’s, the Western Christian world was facing a huge

crisis because of Martin Luther, and his faction of Christians

breaking away from the Roman Catholic Church. Luther believed

that he was trying to save the Christian community by trying to

change the Church, and also believed that the Jewish community

would convert after he separated from the Pope.6 Many Jews

refused to convert despite the Lutheran separation from Rome.

Luther outlined in his letter what he believes Christians should

know about the Jews, including that he believes them to be lazy

and not hard workers. He also mentions that usury was an

occupation that Jews were well known for participating in, and

that he believed that Jews are holding Christians captive because

of loans. On top of all of the other accusations Luther made

6 Steve Hochstadt, “The Context of Christian Anti-Semitism,” In Sources of the Holocaust. Houndmills, Basingstoke, (Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan, 2003), 13.

4

clear that he also believed that Jews killed Christ.7 This would

remain the belief of many Christians, that Jews were responsible

for the death of Christ, until Vatican II in the 20th Century,

which lifted blame from the Jews.8 This would show that despite

the Renaissance going on in Europe in this time period, the

hatred of Jews was acquired very early on in Europe.

Pope Paul IV issued a Papal Bull, Cum nimis absurdum in

1555, which established the precedent of how to establish and

help run ghettos in Europe.9 The bull goes on to explain certain

jobs which Christians cannot do for Jews such as serving as a

nurse in a Jewish household. The bull also detailed that Jews

must destroy all religious buildings and can only have one

synagogue in the ghetto, and that they must sell all of their

current property to members of the Christian community in a time

determined by the local authorities. This helped create the

precedent for segregating the Jewish and non-Jewish communities

of Europe, and could have helped Hitler think about his own plans

for major ghettos including the Warsaw Ghetto.

7 Ibid., 13-14.8 Robert I. Weiner, “The Holocaust.” History 106: Introduction to the Holocaust. Lafayette College, Easton. 27 Jan. 2012. Lecture.9 Steve Hochstadt, “The Context of Christian Antisemitism”, 16.

5

In the 19th Century, Jews around the world developed into

influential members of European society and became prominent in

such professions as academia, business, and government

leadership. They had been emancipated during the French

Revolution, and then in 1870 Jews were granted equality in both

Italy and Germany. Despite the final emancipation of Jews a

petition opposing equality was drafted in Bavaria, Germany in the

late 19th Century. The purpose of the petition was to segregate

the Jews from society, and remove them from government positions.

To quote these Christian populations viewpoint on the Jews: “We

expect protection and more effective laws against Jewish

swindling, against their fraud and usury, against the systematic

exploitation of townspeople and countrymen […]”.10 These

townspeople believed that because Jews were active in banking

they were greedy and self-centered, and therefore they believed

Jews did not deserve equality under the law. Later on Hitler

would use the belief that Jews controlled the German economy and

that this was why the Depression occurred.

10 Ibid., 23.

6

Then during the early 20th Century the respected German

historian Henrich von Treitschke asserted that the Jews of

Western Europe were mainly of Spanish origin and had developed

into productive members of the French, English, and other

societies. His fear for Germany was that they had to deal with

what he considered mainly Jews of Polish origins.11 What he was

trying to say is that the Jews in Spain, England, and France were

more sophisticated and better citizens in their societies. Then

he wanted the Jews in Germany and other Eastern European nations

to consider themselves German instead of identifying themselves

as Jewish. At the same time Treitschke was honoring the Jews

because of the famous members of the German-Jewish community. One

such example is the music community of Jews. Treitschke, however,

did not want German culture to be overtaken by Jewish culture.12

This seems to be a justification for the hatred of Jews in

Germany, because people wanted to preserve what they considered

to be the pure form of German culture and way of life. It is

quite interesting to think about the integration of Jews into

European society, because with time Europe become more secular

11 Ibid., 26. 12 Ibid., 26.

7

and many Jews were also becoming secular.13 The Jews of Europe in

many ways had been able to integrate into the societies of their

respective nations, and usually not be distinguished from the

Christian population. It is quite difficult to imagine people

believing that Jews had not been willing to integrate into

society. This would lead to an ideology which would lead Nazis

and other Germans to believe those who are disabled would also

interfere with establishing a great German state. People who were

disabled in some way might reproduce with those of “purer” blood,

and that in the eyes of the Nazis would destroy better German

blood.

When looking at World War I, Germany’s transition from being

an imperial power to a democratic one was difficult.

Interestingly, the Weimar Republic lasted two years longer that

the regime of Hitler. Some factors which may have helped Hitler

rise to power included anti-democratic people believing that the

Allies had forced Germany into a democracy.14 This helped develop

the belief that foreign counties wanted to abuse German

13Doris L. Bergen, “Precondition: Antisemitism, Racism, and Common Prejudices,” In War & genocide: a concise history of the Holocaust, (Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield, 2003), 7.14 Ibid., 44-45.

8

Sovereignty. The Weimar Republic gave women the right to vote and

greatly improve the German film industry.15 This helped

reestablish the credibility of Germany on the world stage.

However, at the same time German pride had been destroyed by the

loss of the First World War, and the German people wanted to

restore the glory they felt Germany deserved. Hitler took full

advantage of people wanting to bring back the dignity to Germany

and he sought to help mend the pride of country the people

demanded.

The Weimar Republic also faced several problems which helped

drive Hitler to power. Prominent among them was the situation of

inflation facing the German mark. By 1923 the mark was facing

hyperinflation, and people required huge amount of bills to pay

even for things like bread or milk.16 This would drive the German

people to demand a leader willing to solve the currency value

problem and bring jobs back to the nation’s economy. Hitler would

of course go on to blame groups such as the Jews because he

believed they controlled the German economy. But since there were

new neighbor nations and since those neighbors were weaker than

15 Ibid., 45.16Ibid., 44-45.

9

Germany, Germany was in fact in a better situation.17 The fact

the economy was better than some other states, though, did not

mean that the economy of Germany was great. Also the legitimacy

of the Weimer Republic was not accepted by Communists who wanted

a more radical liberal democracy. However, the people who were in

power supported a more conservative government.18 This is because

the government may not have trusted by the people.

Dr. Karl Binding argued in his 1920 article “Permission for

the Extermination of Life Unworthy of Life”, that there were

elements of society which put a burden on the remainder of

society.19 His belief was there is no reason not to kill those

individuals that for those who depend on the state for

maintaining their lives while they are not contributing to the

society. It is extremely important to remember that those who

were disabled were part of the Nazis’ target list, and they sent

these people to death camps. It was the goal of the Nazi regime

to “purify’ the German nation. They believed that the disabled

were among the lowest group of life on the planet. Himmler also

17 Ibid., 45.18 Ibid. 45-46.19 Steve Hochstadt, “The Creation of Monsters in Germany”, 29.

10

discussed the belief f increasing a good race. His speech to

senior SS officials in 1937 explains his beliefs on

homosexuality. Himmler stated homosexual that any SS officer

found to be a homosexual shall be sent to prison, and then sent

to a concentration camp.20 His belief was that homosexuality will

prevent the better races from expanding, because the people

carrying the better genes would not have children. It also shows

that Himmler believed that the SS should be setting the best

example in German purity.

Hitler was able to begin gathering his power by preaching,

and targeting the correct groups of people to discredit and

remove from society. The power Hitler had may have been

dictatorial, but it also depended on popular support.21 He also

had the drive and took the majority of the initiative which was

required for the goals of the Nazi era.22 This is important to

know because Hitler needed the people to legitimize his takeover

of the country and what he was doing, because if they didn’t

believe in what his goals were then he would most likely fail.

20 Steve Hochstadt, “The Nazi Attack on Jews and Other Undesirables”, 49-50.21 Doris L. Bergen, “Leadership and Will: Adolf Hitler and the Nationalist Socialist Party,” 30.22 Ibid., 30.

11

Early on one group which was an easy target for Hitler was the

Jehovah’s Witnesses. This is because their beliefs included not

swearing allegiance to any earthly government and to not serve in

the military. Even established Protestant and Catholic groups did

not recognize them and called them a “sect” or even a “cult”.23

This would provide a group which Hitler used as a scapegoat for

problems in Germany, and this would enable him to gain passionate

supporters. Religious differences were important for motivating

support for Hitler, because it helped him to gain the support of

the more mainstream Christian communities which were the

Protestants and Catholics. The Witnesses were offered a chance to

renounce their religious beliefs by signing a declaration which

said that they would swear allegiance to the state, serve in the

military if needed, give any literature relating to the Witnesses

to the police, and turn in anyone who approached them about the

Witness movement.24 This would be extremely difficult for any

member of the Witness movement to do, because it would conflict

with their personal beliefs. But it would not be surprising if

23Doris L. Bergen, “Preconditions: Antisemitism, Racism, and Common Prejudice,” 23-24.24 Steve Hochstadt, “The Nazi Attack on Jews and Other Undesirables,” 47-48.

12

members of the movement chose to renounce their beliefs, but then

in private re-declare their belief in their religion so they

would be able to survive the war.

The Friendlander article, entitled “The Opening Act of Nazi

Genocide”, from the Nieywk book begins by describing the belief

that there were inferior groups of German society. Friendlander

states that the term “eugenics” was coined by a British

mathematician by the name of Francis Galton and was described by

American eugenicist Charles B. Davenport. The definition provided

by Davenport is that eugenics is “the science of the improvement

of the human race by better breeding.”25 By using the belief that

there was a special form of breeding people, Hitler would want to

insure that his “master race” would be able to reproduce for

future generations. This would also provide Hitler with a

supportive argument for people who held anti-Jewish views or

hatred for other groups, so they would be able to have “truly

scientific” truth to confirm their belief of a racial or social

inferiority.

25 Donald L Niewyk, and Henry Friedlander. “The Opening Act of Nazi Genocide.”In The Holocaust: problems and perspectives of interpretation. 3rd ed. (Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 2003), 40.

13

When looking at more of the political control Hitler was

able to consolidate in Germany, a major obstacle was the

Communist Party. This is because they were organized and had

supporters across Germany, like the Nazis did. They were also

represented in the German Parliament.26 Unlike the Communists,

Hitler had many important groups who supported his rise to power,

and they included the industrialists, nationalists,

conservatives, and military leaders who greatly distrusted and

hated the communists.27 When it came to removing a mutual enemy

of both the Nazis and its leadership’s allies, in this case the

Communists, Hitler wouldn’t have much opposition to the power he

desired. The legislation that Hitler wanted to push through the

Parliament could also have some smaller fine print which would

increase his personal power base. Hitler finally got his excuse

to attack the Communists when the Parliament building burned

down, and this provided him with the chance to rid Germany of the

Communists.28

26 Doris L. Bergen, “Precondition: Antisemitism, Racism, and Common Prejudices.” In War & genocide: a concise history of the Holocaust. )Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield, 2003), 53.27 Ibid., 53.28 Ibid., 53.

14

The Nazi Government was also working on removing Jews and

other groups they considered to be undesirable. The Nazis issued

restrictions on the activities of those groups. The Social

Democratic Party, a rival of the Nazis, issued reports about the

restrictions placed on groups who were discriminated against. One

report from the Hochstadt concerns the persecution of Jews. Jews

were forbidden from buying real estate, going to select movie

theaters, and were even forbidden from going to certain spas.29

During the Holocaust the Jews were expelled from the societies

they had considered themselves a part of, because they grew up in

German society, had to embrace German nationalist views and be

identified as Germans. They were stripped of their rights to be

active in and enjoy their way of life. This would come from a

consolidation of power granted to Hitler by the acts passed by

the Parliament, because he was given total power and was

implementing what he wanted.

When it came to Hitler maintaining his power, it was vital

that he have loyal subordinates to help carry out his policies.

The SS provided him with an arm to help execute his policies.

29Steve Hochstadt, “The Nazi Attack on Jews and Other Undesirables.” In Sources of the Holocaust. 42.

15

Since the SS was not an official part of the German government

and was under the control of the Nazi Party30, this enabled

Hitler to go outside of the Army to accomplish certain tasks

which he did not trust or want the army to handle. Himmler, one

of Hitler’s most trusted lieutenants, believed that he was

responsible for carrying out the ideas of Hitler which included

purity, and the elimination of specific groups such as the

Masons, Jews, Gypsies, and others.31 Having men like Himmler was

crucial to Hitler before and during his reign, because he had to

rely on these loyalists for insuring that he would remain in

power. His public speaking was also vital to remaining in power,

because he was a very charismatic public speaker and was able to

captivate the crowd. In 1933 the government passed the “Malicious

Practices Act.” This concerned reporting people who said negative

comments about the Nazi regime. People reported their neighbors

to the authorities in order to show their loyalty to the

government.32 This would greatly discourage others from uttering

comments that may have seemed completely harmless in their eyes,

30 Doris L. Bergen, “From Revolution to Routine: Nazi Germany, 1933-1938”, 70-71.31Ibid., 70-71.32 Ibid., 74-75.

16

but the Nazi officials could see it completely differently.

Having a force that Hitler could use for enforcement of his

policies, and laws that would discourage people from speaking out

against him would greatly consolidate and reinforce his hold on

to power.

It is instructive to look at a story concerning Peter Gay,

who was a young boy when the Nazis were rising to power and was

later able to escape to the United States. When he was a child

despite his family being Jewish he was not harassed or made fun

of because of his faith.33 This example of even just one Jewish

family in Germany that was able to integrate into the society

shows that the arguments of Hitler and other Nazis against Jews

were untrue. The arguments are ungrounded because they did not

accept the fact that Jews were happy to join the society of their

respective nation. Peters father had fought in the First World

War and had been decorated for his actions on behalf of Germany.

Both of his parents were strong atheists.34 The idea that a

German family who was not religious, and that knew and respected

33Doris L. Bergen, “Precondition: Antisemitism, Racism, and Common Prejudices”, 9.34 Ibid., 9.

17

non-Jewish Germans would be hated simply because of the fact that

their ancestors were Jewish shows how disturbing Nazi Germany

was. Peter would eventually grow up to be a historian of European

history and would teach at Yale University.35 It would important

for people who were able to escape from Germany to speak on

behalf of those who were not as fortunate, and to educate people

about anti-Semitism to reduce the amount of hate in the world.

When looking at a person such as Oskar Schindler, we see a

person who didn’t really care about National Socialism, but just

really wanted to become a very rich tycoon from the war, and he

saw his chance in Cracow.36 He was a man who very much enjoyed

life and was very focused on business, and because of the scale

of the German war plan he would create a boom town in Cracow.

Since childhood he didn’t really care about blood or race37, and

this would affect him because he totally focused on business and

didn’t mind knowing non-Christians. However, later on he felt

that there was only one other person really like him in Cracow

and that was Julius Madritsch.38 This is because Schindler felt 35 Ibid., 10.36Thomas Keneally, “1.” In Schindler's list (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1982), 31.37 Ibid., 34-35. 38 Ibid., 18.

18

that if they were asked to justify their factories it would be

that they were keeping prisoners away from the death chambers of

the camps. This belief may have motivated certain factory owners

later in the war, but early on it was not likely to have been one

of their priorities. Schindler also began to work with a dentist

from Austria by the name of Sedlacek, and had agreed to provide

information to Jewish groups outside of German occupied areas

about the status of Jews in Poland.39 This was a very dangerous

move on the part of Oskar, because if the German government were

to discover that he was providing information to outside groups,

Oskar could have been charged with treason and been executed.

Also the Schindler work camp was better than others, because even

though the SS may have regulated the life of the prisoners,

Schindler was able to set certain standards. This included no

beatings, no dogs used, and a calorie intake of around 2,000 a

day which was better than other camps.40 The fact that a man like

Schindler was able to charm his way into having certain

privileges over his workers’ lives, and allowed those lives to be

better demonstrates his humanitarian side. Indeed, he was a

39 Ibid., 145-150.40 Ibid., 202-203.

19

passionate human being since he was able to help save such a

large number of people.

The ideas expressed in the information above demonstrate the

factors that helped Hitler rally the people of Germany around

him, and destroy the peoples whom he despised. Anti-semitism is

not new to this world and it will take a long time to be

eradicated from this earth. However, the Nazi Party was one of

the most effective and powerful engines of active anti-semitism

in world history and hopefully will be the last major sweep of

people participating in this sort of event.

Hitler had a radical obsession with continuing a long

tradition of anti-semitism and hatred of groups who were not

considered to be part of the main population of a particular

country. The development of anti-semitism and other hateful

actions of people throughout history is also subject to the time

and place of the actions. Ironically, France had declared all

people equal because of the Revolution, and in Germany there was

also supposed to be equal rights for all people. Hitler took

radical action in exploiting the worst beliefs of people in

Europe and changed the world.

20

Bibliography

Bergen, Doris L. War & genocide: a concise history of the Holocaust. Lanham:

Rowman & Littlefield, 2003.

Gilbert, Martin. Exile and return: the struggle for a Jewish homeland.

Philadelphia: Lippincott, 1978.

Hochstadt, Steve. Sources of the Holocaust. Houndmills, Basingstoke,

Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan, 2004.

21

Robert I. Weiner, “The Holocaust.” History 106: Introduction to

the Holocaust. Lafayette College, Easton. 27 Jan. 2012.

Lecture.

Martin Gilbert. “Israel Dispersed,” In Exile and return: the struggle for a

Jewish homeland, Philadelphia: Lippincott, 1978.

Niewyk, Donald L. The Holocaust: problems and perspectives of interpretation.

3rd ed. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 2003.

Keneally, Thomas. “1.” In Schindler's list. New York: Simon and

Schuster, 1982.