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Lesson 3 1933–1939 Indoctrination and Discrimination

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Page 1: Lesson 3 - Wappingers Central School District / Overvie · Lesson Overview ... Quotation Hitler’s “New Order ... 2B Photo: Children Reading anti-Jewish Propaganda 2C Photo: Classroom

Lesson 3

1933–1939Indoctrination and Discrimination

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124 Indoctrination and Discrimination

CONTENTSLesson Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125

Quotation Hitler’s “New Order” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127

Document 1A Graph: German Unemployment 1928–1933 . . . . . . . . . . . 128Document 1B Graph: Elections 1924–1933 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129

Document 2C Photo: The Poisonous Mushroom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130Document 2B Photo: Children reading anti-Jewish Propaganda . . . . . . . 130 Document 2C Photo: Classroom Indoctrination. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131

Document 3 Reading: Into the Arms of Strangers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132

Document 4 Reading: “Education for Death: Nazi Youth Movements” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134

Document 5 Photo: 1933 Boycott . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137

Document 6 Reading: Nuremberg Laws . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138

Document 7 Photo: Book Burning, 1933 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139

Document 8 Reading and Photo: The 1936 Olympics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140

Document 9A Reading: “Kristallnacht” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141Document 9B Map and Photo: Kristallnacht . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142Document 9C Reading: “Nazis Now Drive to Complete

Their Program”. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144Document 9D Photo: Expulsion from School . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146

World War II and Holocaust Time Line 1933–1938. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147

Homework Reading The Cage, Chapters 2 and 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150

1933–1939Indoctrination and Discrimination

The HHREC gratefully acknowledges the funders who supported our curriculum project:• Office of State Senator

Vincent Leibell/New York StateDepartment of Education

• Fuji Photo Film USA

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Indoctrination and Discrimination 125

KEY VOCABULARY

boycott

Nuremberg laws

ethnic

propaganda

expulsion

racial slurs

indoctrination

refugee camp

Kristallnacht

tribunal

National Socialist Party

OBJECTIVES• Students will identify strategies of

state-sponsored indoctrination.

• Students will identify legal acts ofdiscrimination.

• Students will recognize why and howGerman youth were indoctrinated.

• Students will recognize how indoc-trination and discrimination con-tributed to genocide.

ESSENTIAL QUESTIONWhy and how did the Jews becometargets of discrimination after Hitlertook power?

LESSON OVERVIEWIn this lesson students will be introduced to the policies of state-sponsored indoctrination and discrimination in order to under-stand how these developed as steps toward genocide.

This lesson will illustrate how the Nazis used propaganda, a policythat led to discrimination against Jews, to indoctrinate theGerman people, including the youth.

INSTRUCTIONAL PLAN AND ACTIVITIES

Activity 1

• Review homework reading: “The Tightening Noose.”

• Lead students in discussion in which they give examples of prej-udice from the reading and explain how they are different fromthose previously discussed. Ask students how such prejudicecould occur in Germany in the 1930s. Ask students if similaractions could occur in the United States today.

Activity 2

• Using documents 1A and 1B, ask students to identify those factors that contributed to Hitler’s rise to power.

Activity 3

• Distribute documents 2A, 2B, 2C, 3, and 4 related to indoctrina-tion. Discuss how the Nazis used indoctrination to promotetheir ideology. Discuss how effective it was.

Activity 4

• Lead students to identify the ways in which the Nazis discrimi-nated against the Jews. Distribute documents 5, 6, 7, 8, 9A, 9B,9C, and 9D.

• The World War II and Holocaust Time Line for 1933–1939 may bedistributed to aid in the understanding of the above documents.

Activity 5

• Show Chapter 1, “Indoctrination and Discrimination,” ofTestimony of the Human Spirit (23 minutes).

• Discuss: What was life like for Sel Hubert and Susan Rothschildand their families before 1933? Describe how their lives becamemore difficult after 1933.

• For more questions, refer to the Teacher’s Guide Testimony of theHuman Spirit.

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126 Indoctrination and Discrimination

RESOURCES1A Graph: German Unemployment

1928–19331B Graph: Elections 1924–1933

2A Photo: The Poisonous Mushroom2B Photo: Children Reading

anti-Jewish Propaganda2C Photo: Classroom Indoctrination

3 Reading: Into the Arms ofStrangers

4 Reading: German Youth Groups

5 Photo: 1933 Boycott

6 Reading: Nuremberg Laws

7 Photo: Book Burning, 1933

8 Reading and Photo: The 1936Olympics

9A Reading: Kristallnacht9B Map and Photo: Kristallnacht9C Reading: “Nazis Now Drive to

Complete Their Program”9D Photo: Expulsion from School

10 World War II and HolocaustTime Line

Concluding Questions

1. How was life changing for the German people?

2. How did state-sponsored indoctrination and discriminationbecome stepping-stones on the long road ending in genocide?

Contemporary Connection

• “Sticks and stones will break my bones but names will neverhurt me.” Why are ethnic jokes and racial slurs dangerous?

Assessment

• Compare the experience of the Jews in Germany during the1930s with the experience of African-Americans in Americafrom 1875-1965.

Homework

• Read Chapters 2 and 3 of The Cage by Ruth Minsky Sender.

• How did the relationship between neighbors change fromChapter 2 to Chapter 3?

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Indoctrination and Discrimination 127

“My program for educating youth is hard. Weakness must be hammered

away. In my castles of the Teutonic Order a youth will grow up before which

the world will tremble. I want a brutal, domineering, fearless, cruel youth.

Youth must be all that. It must bear pain. There must be nothing weak and

gentle about it. The free, splendid beast of prey must once again flash from

its eyes. . . . That is how I will eradicate thousands of years of human

domestication. . . . That is how I will create the New Order.”

—Adolf Hitler, 1933

QUOTATION

Hitler’s “New Order”

www.historyplace.com/worldwar2/hitleryouth/

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128 Indoctrination and Discrimination

DOCUMENT 1A

German Unemployment 1928–1933

From Edwin Fenton, John M. Good, Linda W. Rosenzweig, and George M. Gregory, Teacher’s Guide for the Shaping of Western Society (New York: Holt,Rinehart and Winston, 1974), p.163. Reprinted by permission of Holt, Rinehart and Winston Inc.

QUESTIONWhat conclusions can you draw?

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DOCUMENT 1B

Elections 1924–1933

From Edwin Fenton, John M. Good, Linda W. Rosenzweig, and George M. Gregory, Teacher’s Guide forthe Shaping of Western Society (New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1974), p.163. Reprinted by per-mission of Holt, Rinehart and Winston Inc.

QUESTIONRefer to the two charts “German Unemployment” and “Elections to the Weimar Republic” to explainthe increase in the number of seats won by the Nazi Party from 1924 to 1933.

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DOCUMENT 2A

The Poisonous Mushroom

DOCUMENT 2B

Children reading anti-Jewish Propaganda

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, Photo Archives

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, Photo Archives

QUESTIONWhat message does this book convey about the Jews?

German children read an anti-Jewish propaganda book titled Der Giftpilz(The Poisonous Mushroom). The girl on the left holds a companion volume, whose translated title is “Trust No Fox.” Germany, ca. 1938.

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DOCUMENT 2C

Classroom Indoctrination

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, Photo Archive

“Die Judennase ist an ihrer Spitzegebogen. Sie sieht aus wie einSechen…”

“The Jewish nose is bent. It lookslike the number six…”

QUESTIONHow was the classroom utilized as a vehicle to teach Nazi ideology?

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DOCUMENT 3

Reading: Into the Arms of Strangers: Stories of the Kindertransport

Whenever they had lessonson racial teachings—which Iwasn’t allowed to join—I had tostand outside in the corridorfor the whole hour. The chil-dren and teachers who werewalking by always gave me afunny look. It was quite fright-ening to be there on your own.

At the end of the hour, Ihad to go back into the class,and you could feel the tension.You could feel their eyes onyou. They would look at you asif you were some sort of ver-min. I found it very difficult tocope with.

I remember once theteacher had been teaching thechildren to measure skulls.There was a typical Germanictype of skull and I think theJews were supposed to havevery low, reclining foreheads—I can’t remember exactly. Theteacher made the children allmeasure each other, and when Icame in at the end of the lessonhe said, “Now you go andmeasure Ursula.” I didn’t dareto say anything, and the teacherwas very disappointed becauseI didn’t measure up to hisexpectations.

I can’t remember how heexplained this, but on top ofthat, I didn’t have dark hair, Ihad blonde hair, and long plaits,and I didn’t really conform tothe caricature of what theGermans thought the Jewsshould look like. Perhaps onlymy nose.

I just hated school. I wasterrified every day. But mymother made us go. She saidwe should be proud because wewere Jewish, and this was theyoke we had to bear. We shoulddo just a little bit better, weshould work that little bitharder and we would getthrough in the end. She gave usa lot of encouragement, but itwas very hard.

Playtime was an absolutenightmare for me. At least inclass I would sit at my desk, andeven though the children usedto throw ink over my work, onthe whole it wasn’t too bad. Icould cope. But after each les-son you had to go into the play-ground; they wouldn’t let mestay in the classroom. In theplayground you had to deal notonly with your own class, butwith the other children as well. I

would have liked to have beeninvisible, to have disappearedinto the ground.

I still have nightmares some-times about it today. It comesback to me in dreams, the terrorwhich you felt at the time,because you never knew whatwas going to happen, who wasgoing to trip you up. If you fell,they just burst out laughing; theythought that was very funny.

Later, in the girls’ highschool, which I attended when Iwas ten, I had a gym teacher:Fraulein Maus. I still rememberher very well—she was such aNazi. She was also our historyteacher and, of course, had herangle on history. I never learnedany real German history. Hergym classes were worse. Oneparticular instance: we used tohave a vault horse, and we’dhave to take a run to jump overit. She’d be standing at the otherend to catch you.

When it was my turn togo—I tried all kinds of excusesto get out of it, but nothinghelped—I’d start to jumpacross, and the moment whenshe was about to catch me, she’dstep aside. Of course, I’d crash. I

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tried not to jump too hard orrun too fast, and then she’dshout at me, “You’re not doing itright,” and I had to repeat it. Itwas terrifying really.

Hella and I were both veryconscious, though, that our par-ents were going through tremen-dous problems themselves.There was very little laughter in

the house. So gradually we toldfewer and fewer tales about whatwas happening to us at school.

DOCUMENT 3 (continued)

Reading: Into the Arms of Strangers: Stories of the Kindertransport

Mark Jonathan Harris and Deborah Oppenheimer, Into the Arms of Strangers “When the Bough Breaks.” (London: Bloomsbury, 2000), pp. 28–29.Reprinted by permission.

QUESTIONS1. How was the classroom utilized as a vehicle to teach Nazi ideology?

2. How does Ursula’s recollection illustrate the use of the classroom as a vehicle for propaganda anddiscrimination?

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134 Indoctrination and Discrimination

DOCUMENT 4

Reading: “Education for Death: Nazi Youth Movements”

EDUCATION FOR DEATH: NAZI YOUTH MOVEMENTS

Gregor Zeimer

This is the story of the Pimpf,the Little Fellow. The Nazi Partytakes him from the NSV,Narodowe Sily Zbrojne(National Armed Forces), at theage of six, and keeps him until heis ten. He wears a dignified uni-form: heavy black shoes, shortblack stockings, black shorts, abrown shirt with a swastika arm-band, and a trench cap.

The Pimpf organizationlays the groundwork for Party

activities in the Jungvolk andHitler Youth. The boy receives anumber, and is given aLeistungsbuch, an efficiencyrecord book. Throughout theyears it records not only hisphysical development, and hisadvancement in militaryprowess, but also his ideologicalgrowth. His school, home, andParty activities are minutelysupervised, controlled, inspect-ed, and indelibly registered.

“At the age of ten the Pimpfmust pass a rigid examinationas outlined in the Pimpf manu-al, before he can be promotedto the Jungvolk.”

“If he fails to be promoted,he is made to feel that he wouldbe better off dead; if he doespass, he is told that he must beready to die for Hitler inJungvolk, even as he was readyto die for him in the Pimpfstage.”

Until the girls in NaziGermany are fourteen, they areclassified as Jungmaedel, younggirls. During this time theyacquire those rudiments ofeducation that the Party con-siders essential. But, above all,they are made conscious of the

mission in the Third Reich, tobe bearers of healthy children.Hence, the subject of sex isbroached early and realistically.

Their uniforms, calledKluften, include heavy march-ing shoes, stockings whichemphasize durability rather

than beauty, full blue skirts,white blouses, cotton necker-chiefs with wooden rings bear-ing the group insignia. For badweather, the girls have heavyblue “training suits,” slacks, andcapes. They usually go bare-headed.

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Indoctrination and Discrimination 135

DOCUMENT 4 (continued)

Reading: “Education for Death: Nazi Youth Movements”

Jungvolk are the Nazi boysfrom ten to fourteen. Thisstage precedes the Hitler Youthand follows the Pimpf. Therigid system of recording phys-ical achievements as prescribedfor the Pimpf is continued, buton a more comprehensive

scale.The Jungvolk is divided into

approximately six hundredsmaller units, the Jungbanne.These go through a series ofSpartan tests. The marches arelonger, the hunger periodscome more often, the privilegesgranted are fewer than those for

the Pimpf.The boys of ten begin their

lives in the Jungvolk with aninitiation ceremony at whichthey again swear to give up theirlives for Hitler. They concludetheir Jungvolk activities with asimilar ceremony, more devout,more intense in nature.

Three letters are sacred toevery German girl from four-teen to twenty-one years of age:BDM, the abbreviation forBund Deutscher Maedel—League of German Girls.

The oath that the girls swearwhen they are initiated on the

eve of Hitler’s birthday includ-ed the clause of self-sacrifice.

From the minute they donthe BDM uniforms, elaboratewith emblems, letters, triangles,and swastikas, one thought gov-erns their lives; a maturethought, nourished by biologi-

cal eagerness and restlessness:What can we do, what can welearn, how can we live to pre-pare ourselves for our great mis-sion—to be the mothers ofHitler’s future soldiers?

German boys from fourteento eighteen belong to the HitlerYouth. They are Hitler’s sec-ondary army ready to die forhim, but ready to fight first.And they consider themselveswell equipped, mentally, andphysically.

On their ideological foun-dation, laid when they werePimpfs and Jungvolk, the HitlerYouth erect a superstructure ofknowledge useful to soldiers:Deutschkunde, including a

study of Germanic culture,Party history, military geogra-phy; natural science, chemistry;mathematics; and a foreign lan-guage. There is, naturally, fur-ther education in Hitler doc-trines.

The Hitler Jugend, HJ, as itis known, has its own system ofranks and promotions. It main-tains its own leadership schoolsand camps. The uniformsresemble those of the regularStorm Troopers.

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136 Indoctrination and Discrimination

DOCUMENT 4 (continued)

Reading: “Education for Death: Nazi Youth Movements”

The outstanding character-istic of the HJ is their convic-tion that they are the most pow-erful youth organization in theworld. To outsiders they seemimpatient to prove it.

They realize their ownimportance, for has not theFuhrer, in a speech addressed tohis boys in the Lustgarten,Berlin, 1929, told them, “Youthhas its own State?”

Dr. Joseph Goebbels hasgiven them another slogan. In HJMarschiert (“Hitler YouthMarches”) he informs Germanboys: “The older generation says,‘He who has the Youth, has the

Future.’ We say, ‘He who has the Future, has the Youth.’ That is why Youth follows Hitler and his ideology,which is the embodiment of the dreams and hopes of Youth. Don’t let the older generation influence you.We will win. For Youth Is Always Right!”

University of the State of the New York, Education Department. Teaching About the Holocaust andGenocide. Vol. 2 of Human Rights Series. Albany, New York, 1985.

From Trials of the Major War Criminals before the Military Tribunal, documents 2 441-PS Volume XXX p. 502-541 (Nuremberg, Germany: 1948),30:502–541. Reprinted by permission.

QUESTIONS1. What methods were used to indoctrinate German youth?

2. Why was it important to Hitler to indoctrinate German youth?

3. What did Hitler see as the ideal role of German females in German society?

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DOCUMENT 5

Photo: 1933 Boycott

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, Photo Archive

QUESTIONWhat were the potential outcomes of the boycott of Jewish businesses and professionals on both Jewsand non-Jews?

“No respectable German shops here.”

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DOCUMENT 6

Reading: Nuremberg Laws

NUREMBERG LAWS FOR THE PROTECTION OF GERMANBLOOD AND GERMAN HONOR, SEPTEMBER 15, 1935

Moved by the understanding thatpurity of the German Blood is theessential condition for the continuedexistence of the German people, andinspired by the inflexible determina-tion to ensure the existence of theGerman Nation for all time, theReichstag has unanimously adoptedthe following Law, which is promul-gated herewith:

# 11). Marriages between Jews and sub-

jects of the state of German orrelated blood are forbidden.Marriages nevertheless conclud-ed are invalid, even if concludedabroad to circumvent this law.

2). Annulment proceedings can beinitiated only by the StateProsecutor.

# 2Extramarital intercourse between Jewsand subjects of the state of Germanor related blood is forbidden.

# 3Jews may not employ in their house-holds female subjects of the state ofGerman or related blood who areunder 45 years old.

# 41). Jews are forbidden to fly the

Reich or National flag or to dis-play the Reich colors.

2). They are, on the other hand, per-mitted to display the Jewish col-ors. The exercise of this right isprotected by the State.

# 51). Any person who violates the pro-

hibition under #1 will be pun-ished by a prison sentence withhard labor.

2). A male who violates the prohibi-tion under #2 will be punishedwith a prison sentence with orwithout hard labor.

3). Any person violating the provi-sions under #3 or #4 will be pun-ished with a prison sentence of upto one year and a fine, or withone or the other of these penal-

ties.

# 6The Reich Minister of the Interior, incoordination with the Deputy of theFuhrer and the Reich Minister ofJustice, will issue the Legal andAdministrative regulations requiredto implement and complete this Law.

# 7The Law takes effect on the day fol-lowing promulgations except for #3,which goes into force on January 1,1936.

Nuremberg, September 5,1935 at theReich Party Congress of Freedom

The Fuhrer and Reich ChancellorAdolf Hitler

The Reich Minister of the InteriorFrick

The Reich Minister of JusticeDr. Gurtner

The Deputy of the Fuhrer

From Raul Hilberg, Documents of Destruction (Chicago: First Ordinance to the Reich Citizenship Law. Quadrangle Books, 1971), pp. 18–21. Reprinted bypermission.

QUESTIONS1. How do these laws reflect earlier restrictions on Jewish rights?

2. What are the effects of these restrictions on the human rights of Jews?

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DOCUMENT 7

Photo: Book Burning, 1933

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, Photo Archive

Referring to book burning in the nineteenth century, the poet Heinrich Heine said:

“Where they burn books, they will burn people.”

Facing History and Ourselves, Resource Book. Facing History and Ourselves National Foundation, Inc. 1994. p. 180

QUESTIONWhy burn books?

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DOCUMENT 8

Reading: The 1936 Olympics

The most outstanding athlete at the 1936 Olympics was not a German, but an American.Max von der Grun, who was ten years old that summer, later recalled,

Although it was drummed into our heads every day that anything or anyone non-German was

completely worthless, a black man became our idol: the American Jesse Owens, winner of four

Olympic medals. In the playing field, we used to play at being Jesse Owens; whoever could jump

the farthest or run the fastest or throw some object the greatest distance became Jesse Owens.

When our teachers heard us, they forbade us to play such games, but they never replied to our

question of how a black man, a member of an “inferior” race, could manage to be such a consum-

mate athlete.

Facing History and Ourselves, Resource Book. Facing History and Ourselves National Foundation, Inc. 1994. p. 221

The African-American athletes leftGermany with good memories of theirtreatment by the German public andthe friendships they developed at thestadium and the Olympic Village withathletes from other countries. Owenswas pursued everywhere he went andcheered loudly by the largely Germanaudience every time he entered theOlympic stadium. Some African-American athletes were invited toGerman homes for coffee or dinner.

The reception that Owens andother African-American athletesreceived from Nazi leaders was lesswarm. Both the mainstream andAfrican-American press reported thatHitler refused to shake Jesse Owens’hand or congratulate other African-American medalists. In fact, Olympicofficers in charge of protocol hadurged Hitler to receive all the medalwinners or none, and after the firstday’s events, he chose the latter.

Whether he did this to avoid shakinghands with “non-Aryans” is unclear.The Nazi leader could not have beenpleased with the bad publicity, as hisregime did everything possible toavoid any incidents that would tarnishthe image of Germany as the Olympicshost. Despite Owens’ popularity withthe spectators, Hitler never posed forphotographs with him as he had donewith the blonde Sonja Henie duringthe winter Olympics.

Backrach, Susan D. The Nazi Olympics: Berlin 1936. p. 95 Boston: Little, Brown, 2000.

QUESTIONS1. Why was Hitler so eager to host the 1936 Olympics in Germany?

2. Why would the results of some of the Olympics events displease him?

The Nazi Olympics

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DOCUMENT 9A

Reading: “Kristallnacht”

On November 9, 1938,Adolf Hitler attended a dinnerin Munich to honor Nazi Partyheroes. During the course of theevening, he received word of thedeath of Ernst vom Rath, aGerman diplomat in Paris.Upon receiving the news, Hitlerspoke intensely with his propa-ganda minister, JosephGoebbels, and then left withoutgiving his customary speech.

Goebbels took the floor.After announcing Rath’s death,he referred to the anti-Jewishviolence in Germany earlier thatweek. According to Goebbels,Hitler did not wish for suchdemonstrations to be “preparedor organized” by the Nazi Party.However, Goebbels added,Hitler did say that if thoseactions “erupted spontaneously,they were not to be hampered.”

This encrypted signal wasthe product of Rath’s murder. AJewish teenager named HerschelGrynszpan provided the excusefor the Third Reich’s worst pre-war pogroms, which left the

German streets littered withshattered glass from Jewish syna-gogues and store windows. Thesepogroms came to be known asKristallnacht—“Crystal Night”or “Night of Broken Glass.”

On November 7, 1938,Grynszpan, 17, was eking outhis existence in Paris. At thattime, his family was amongsome 17,000 Polish Jews—many of them, like theGrynszpans, longtime residentsof Germany—whom the Nazigovernment had deported toPolish territory in late October.When the Polish state refusedthem entry, most of these hap-less Jews ended up in a miser-able Polish refugee camp nearthe border town of Zbaszyn.

Grynszpan correctlyinferred that his family was inserious trouble. “We don’t havea cent,” his sister Berta wrote ina letter to him. Her brother didnot have much more, but hehad enough to buy a pistol.Next he went to the GermanEmbassy, asked to see an offi-

cial, and then shot and fatallywounded Ernst vom Rath.

As Rath lay dying, Nazi planswere laid to give free rein to the“spontaneous” eruption of “pop-ular anger” that news of theshooting had provoked. Within48 hours of Rath’s death, hun-dreds of Jewish synagogues weretorched—while fire brigades idlystood by. More than 7,000 Jewishbusinesses were looted withoutintervention by the police. Jewishcemeteries were desecrated.Some 91 Jews were killed, and30,000 Jewish men were placedunder arrest and sent to thenewly enlarged concentrationcamps at Dachau, Buchenwald,and Sachsenhausen.

Jews were blamed for thepogrom and had to pay for thedamages as well. A fine of onebillion Reichsmarks—equal tosome 400 million U.S. dollars at1938 rates—was imposed on theJewish community. Kristallnachtshowed that no Jew could everexpect to live a normal life with-in the Nazi dictatorship.

Hogan, David and David Aretha, Eds. Kristallnacht. The Holocaust Chronicle: A History in Words-Pictures. (Lincolnwood, IL: Publications International,2000). p.144 Reprinted by permission.

Kristallnacht

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142 Indoctrination and Discrimination

DOCUMENT 9B

Map and Photos: Kristallnacht

The synagogue in Baden-Baden burning the morning after Kristallnacht, November, 1938. United States HolocaustMemorial Museum, Photo Archives

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Indoctrination and Discrimination 143

DOCUMENT 9B (continued)

Map and Photos: Kristallnacht

Destruction of the synagogues, November 9–10, 1938.

Victoria Sherrow, Smoke to Flames (Woodbridge, CT: Blackbirch Press, 1998). Reprinted by permission.

QUESTIONS1. What is the significance of the name Kristallnacht?

2. According to the map, how many synagogues were destroyed in Germany and Austria onNovember 9–10, 1938?

3. What can be inferred about the effects of this destruction on the lives of Jews and non-Jews inGermany and Austria?

4. How does the name cloud the fact that it was a night of broken lives as well as broken glass?

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144 Indoctrination and Discrimination

BERLIN, November 19—The final “liquidation” of theJews in Germany in the name ofretribution for the murder of aGerman diplomat has surprisedand shocked the world as a newmanifestation of “FurorTeutonicus.”

The world reaction hasbeen as violent as the outbreakitself and has produced an evenmore violent reaction inGerman official quarters andthe press. As a result, Germany’spublic relations with the rest ofthe world are today apparentlyworse than ever, and even thegreatest optimists and “realists”outside Germany are abandon-ing the hopes that they pinnedon “the peace of Munich.”

A flabbergasted world nowasks how such things can occurin our twentieth-century civi-lization. The shock to which theNational Socialists respond by

rattling the skeletons in theclosets of other nations, isimportant for itself, but as forthe surprise the German pressrightly points out that theworld itself is at fault because itrefused to take the NationalSocialists and their programseriously.

What Others ThoughtThat violent anti-Semitism is afundamental part of theNational Socialist program hasbeen obvious since the presentregime came into power fiveand a half years ago.

Despite this, however, itappears to have been the generalassumption of many people,including many Jews and theBritish Government, that theNational Socialist program, afterall, was only a party platform forelection purposes and that nowthat Chancellor Adolf Hitler had

achieved undoubted successesboth in the foreign and domesticfields he would be willing to set-tle down, lead a quiet life andperhaps go fishing.

Viscount Halifax, the BritishForeign Secretary, it is believedhere, considered Herr Hitler asecond Gandhi, whom he wouldtame, and Prime MinisterNeville Chamberlain is thoughtto have considered Herr Hitler aBritish labor leader whom hecould dress up in knee breechesand take before the King.

Contempt Felt in BerlinFor such speculations of the“umbrella carrying bourgeoisworld” the National Socialistshave only profound contempt.The National Socialist regimenow feels itself strong enoughaccording to its own purposes,its own morals and its ownmethods.

DOCUMENT 9C

Reading: “Nazis Now Drive to Complete Their Program”

The New York TimesSunday, November 20, 1938

NAZIS NOW DRIVE TO COMPLETE THEIR PROGRAM

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Indoctrination and Discrimination 145

Jews’ Doom Long Evident That the Jews were marked forcomplete elimination fromGerman national life has beenevident from the very start ofthe National Socialist regime,and notice that they would bedeprived of most of their pos-sessions was served on theworld in April, when MarshalGoering issued a decree com-pelling them to register theirproperty with the State. Thequestion that remained to beanswered was when and how.

The answer came when itdid, first because the “peace of

Munich” which surrendered theCzech liaisons to Germany andtherewith made her impreg-nable enabled her to disregardworld opinion without the fearof the consequences, and, sec-ond, because the murder ofErnst vom Rath, GermanEmbassy Secretary in Paris, by aPolish Jew whose parents hadbeen deported from Germanyprovided provocation to allGerman anger and make drasticaction plausible.

But that it took the form itdid is less easily explained.There is no doubt that five

years of hammering anti-Semitic slogans into theGerman mind, especially atevery meeting of party orStorm Troop units, had accu-mulated explosive material,but that in such a disciplinedState as Germany that materialwas permitted to explodeunder circumstances thatbetrayed even to the casualobserver a well-functioningorganization and commonmode of procedure suggestssome deeper reasons that canonly be guessed at.

DOCUMENT 9C (continued)

Reading: “Nazis Now Drive to Complete Their Program”

QUESTIONAccording to this article, how did the countries of the world react to Kristallnacht and how could theyhave responded?

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146 Indoctrination and Discrimination

DOCUMENT 9D

Photo: Expulsion from School

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, Photo Archive

“November 15, 1938: All Jewish students are expelled from German schools. From now on,they may only attend Jewish schools.”

Hogan, David, and David Aretha. The Holocaust Chronichle: A History in the Words and Pictures. Lincolnwood, IL. : Publications International. p. 144

QUESTIONHow did legal measures following Kristallnacht make the day-to-day lives of Jews more difficult?

Illustration from a 1938 German schoolbook: Jewish children and their teacher areexpelled from school.

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Indoctrination and Discrimination 147

WORLD WAR II/HOLOCAUST TIMELINE

ROAD TO WAR ROAD TO HOLOCAUSTPREJUDICE and DISCRIMINATION

January 30 Adolf Hitler appointed Chancellor of Germany.

October 7 Germany withdraws from League of Nations.

March 23 First concentration camp opened atDachau.

March 27 Enabling Acts suspending civil liberties.

April 1 – 20 Jewish shops and businesses boycottednationwide.

Jewish professionals excluded from government jobs, including teaching.

Jewish dietary laws prohibited.

Spring – Public burning of books by Jews andSummer other anti-Nazis.

Jewish professors expelled from universities.

Jewish writers and artists prohibited frompracticing their professions.

July Laws passed permitting forced sterilizationof those considered “inferior”

Protests by American organizations ofNazi persecution Of Jews.

1933

August 2 Hitler names himself “Fuhrer”over both government and party.

October First major arrests of homosexualsthroughout Germany.

1934

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148 Indoctrination and Discrimination

WORLD WAR II/HOLOCAUST TIMELINE (Continued)

ROAD TO WAR ROAD TO HOLOCAUSTINDOCTRINATION and DISCRIMINATION

March 7 Nazi army marches into Rhineland.

May 5 Ethiopia occupied by Italy.

October Rome-Berlin Axis agreement signed

March 3 Jewish doctors barred from practicing ingovernment institutions.

July First Gypsies arrested and sent to Dachau.

1936

July 16 Buchenwald concentration camp opened.

1937

March Germany enacts draft law violatingTreaty Of Versailles

April Jehovah’s Witnesses barred from civilservice jobs and many arrested.

May – Jews barred from serving in the GermanNovember armed forces.

Nuremberg Laws enacted.

Jews could not be German citizens.

Jews could not marry Aryans.

Jews could not fly the German flag.

Jew defined as one with two or moreJewish grandparents.

1935

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Indoctrination and Discrimination 149

WORLD WAR II/HOLOCAUST TIMELINE (Continued)

ROAD TO WAR ROAD TO HOLOCAUSTINDOCTRINATION and DISCRIMINATION

March Germany invades Czechoslovakia.

Jan. Hitler states that if war erupts it will meanthe extermination of European Jews.

May Ravensbruck concentration camp forwomen established.

June Jewish refugees aboard SS St. Louisdenied entry to Cuba and US.

1939

July Evian Conference to discuss refugee policies.

September Munich Pact signed. Britain and Franceagree to Turn over Sudetenland.

March 13 Austria annexed by Germany.

All German anti-Semitic laws immediatelyapply In Austria

April Jews in Reich must register all propertywith the authorities.

August All Jewish men required to add “Israel” totheir name and Jewish women “Sarah”.

October First Polish Jews deported from Germany.

At Swiss request, Germans order allJewish passports stamped with a “J”.

Nov. 9 Kristallnacht following assassination ofvom Rath.

Anti-Jewish progrom in Germany and Austria

200 synagogues destroyed.

7,500 Jewish shops looted.

30,000 Jewish men arrested; many sent toconcentration camps.

Nov. 12 Decree forcing all Jews to transfer Jewishbusinesses to Aryan hands.

Jewish pupils expelled from Germanschools.

December Gypsies in Germany required to registerwith the police.

1938

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150 Indoctrination and Discrimination

HOMEWORK READING

The Cage, Chapters 2 and 3

The Cage, by Ruth Minsky Sender, is her story of young Riva Minska , who becomes the head of herhousehold and shepherds her brothers through their experiences in the Lodz ghetto and later throughthe shock of roundups and deportation. Sender tells her story of survival in a comprehensive fashionthat manages to touch on numerous significant events of the Holocaust. Chapters 2 and 3 are usedhere because they clearly illustrate the neighbors’ rapid change in attitude once Hitler comes to power.Later, Chapters 7 and 17 are used to reveal the harsh daily routines of ghetto life and the struggle theyoung family must make just to stay together.

Lodz, PolandIt is spring. The smell of freshpaint blends with the freshscent of the new season. Spring,warm and gentle, brings thebeautiful holiday of freedom:Pesach, or Passover.

The hustle of Pesach is in fullswing. The homes are aired,cleaned, and painted. Excitementis in the air. The long-awaitedguest is coming to remind us ofthe joys of freedom and the bit-terness of slavery.

Mama is busy sewing newclothes for her seven children.Pesach would not be the samewithout new clothes and newshoes. She sings a Yiddish song,pushing the pedal of thesewing machine to the rhythmof the tune:

Tell me, children, if you know,

What is this dear holiday called?

Her song and the sound of thesewing machine ring happily allthrough the house.

Mrs. Gruber, our landlady,pokes her silver-gray headthrough the open door of ourapartment. “Nacha,” she calls inher rugged voice, “don’t forgetto order your matzos today. Theholiday is almost here! I see youstill have a lot to do to getready!” Her eyes take in everylittle detail of our busy homeand stop to rest for a momenton the table laden with all kindsof fabrics. “And remember tomake something for my Harryfor Pesach!” she adds, stillstanding by the open door, toobusy to come inside.

Mama smiles and calls back.“I ordered matzos already, Mrs.Gruber. I will be ready for Pesach

in time, don’t worry.” From thepile of fabric she picks up blacksatin and silver braid.“This, Mrs.Gruber, is for your grandsonHarry, for his new peasant shirt,the same shirt that I am makingfor my sons. You know, Harry isone of my kids, too.”

Mrs. Gruber smiles herapproval, leaving to make therounds of her other tenants, tomake sure they are all ready togreet the holiday with honor.She stops to admire her prideand joy, the huge oak tree in theyard, its strong branches cov-ered with blossoms.

I have the job of cleaningour windows for the holidays,and I see Mrs. Gruber standingunder the tree, proud and state-ly, just like that old oak tree. Isee the tree covered with big,green leaves, spreading out its

The Cage, Chapter 2

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Indoctrination and Discrimination 151

HOMEWORK READING (continued)

The Cage, Chapters 2 and 3

branches like a beautifulumbrella even now, when it isfirst beginning to sprout.

On hot summer days, I seeour tired neighbors sitting inthe tree’s shade, trying to solvethe problems of the world. It isso much easier to solve worldproblems in the shade of a hugeoak tree. I often hear them say,“What pleasure, such a tree.”

I look at Mrs. Gruber again.I am thirteen years old, and Ihave known her all my life. Mymother was born in this house,and Olga, Mrs. Gruber’s daugh-ter, was also born here. Olga’sthirteen-year-old son, Harry, islike a member of my family. Ihave brothers and sisters, butHarry is an only child andspends most of his time with us.

They all speak Yiddish, cele-brate the holidays with us, shareour lives. It is hard to believe theyare not Jewish. They are so mucha part of our world, in happinessand in sorrow. If one of us takessick, Mrs. Gruber is the first tocome running with her remediesand treats. If we play too loudly,she is the first to scold us: “Slowdown, you’ll break a leg. Yourmother has plenty to worryabout without you kids givingher more trouble!”

Mama is a widow, support-

ing seven young children. Sheruns a tailor factory and worksvery hard to be able to send usto private schools. She gives usthe best she can in a home filledwith love. We are all happy, sur-rounded by friends we can trustand count on.

The lovely Pesach passes, andspring turns into summer.

The discussions under theoak tree are loud and full ofworry. Words like war andHitler are part of the dailyvocabulary. Reserve soldiers arebeing recalled for duty. It isbelieved to be only a precaution.

“Poland is strong!” I hearMoishe, our neighborhoodoptimist. “We have nothing toworry about. The world will notlet Hitler take over Poland.”

“But the world let Hitlertake over Austria andCzechoslovakia,” Yankl voiceshis view.

Harry and I sit on the grassnear the tree and listen. I amfrightened as I look at the facesof our neighbors. Their eyes areso full of fear and sadness. Theyknow war brings hunger, pain,death…I look at Harry. Oureyes meet. Silently, we take eachother’s hand. Harry’s gentletouch makes me feel safer. Why

would anybody want to hurtus? We are only children. Noreason to be afraid. No reasonto panic.

But panic and hysteriaslowly take over. Stories aboutGerman spies, rumors abouttraitors among the peoplespread like fire out of control.

One day an angry mob sur-rounds Harry, shouting, “He isa spy! He is sending secrets tothe Germans! He is a German!His ancestors were German!Kill him! Kill him!”

Harry’s face is pale andstricken with terror. He is beg-ging, “Let me go. Don’t hurtme. I am not a spy! Please!”

I see Harry pushed againstthe wall, his shirt torn. I scream,“Leave him alone! He is mybrother. He is not a German.You are all mad!”

They are mad. They do notknow what they are doing. Theywill hurt my friend. I know he isnot a spy.

I see Mama. Like a tigresspushing forward to protect heryoung, her eyes flashing, hervoice raging, she places herselfin front of Harry. “What areyou doing?” she shouts. “He isonly a child! We all know him.He was born here. Grew upwith our children. He is one of

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152 Indoctrination and Discrimination

us. Our child! You will have tokill me before you touch a hairon his head! Go home andcalm down!”

She looks at the facesaround her. There is suddensilence. Painful silence. They are

leaving.Mama holds Harry close to

her. He is trembling. She whis-pers gently, “It is over. You aresafe now.”

Harry is crying. I cry withhim. What crazy, crazy people.

How could Harry, his mother,his grandmother do anything tohurt us, their friends? Onlybecause they have Germanancestors…they are notGermans. They are part of ourfamily.

QUESTIONS1. Describe the relationship between Mrs. Gruber, the Christian landlady, and Nacha, the narrator’s

Jewish mother.

2. What is Pesach, and why is it important to know that Mama is sewing a new shirt for Harry?

3. What is Ruth’s reaction when Harry is accused of being a spy for the Germans? How does Mamareact?

In September 1939, theGermans invade Poland. Theymarch into the homes of Jews,giving them five minutes tomove out, beating and killinghelpless people. It is war againstthe Jews: men, women, children.

A new breed of Germancomes suddenly to life:Volksdeutsche. Poles who neverknew of their German heritagedig into their past to find a dropof German blood that will linkthem to “the Fatherland.” Theyput on swastikas and becomeNazis.

Mrs. Gruber, Olga, andHarry join the Volksdeutsche.

Mrs. Gruber loads wagons withJewish belongings she has takenand moves into a Jewish homein the nicest part of Lodz.

Morning. A pounding at thedoor. I jump out of my bed,startled. “Open the door!” It is afamiliar voice. I open the door.Before me, smiling proudly,stands Harry in the uniform ofthe Hitler Youth. He holds aclub in his hands.

I stare at him in disbelief. Acold sweat covers my body. Ifeel sick. “Not you,” I whisperhoarsely. “Not you, Harry. Howcould you join them? Howcould you, my brother, become

a part of killing people? Youknow what the Nazis are doingis horrible, unforgivable…”

For a moment he looks a lit-tle ashamed. Then a Harry Inever knew, in a voice I neverheard before, says, “Riva,Germany is my fatherland. I’lldo anything for my fatherland.”

I feel the salty taste of tearsin my mouth. They have poi-soned his mind.

“I will still be your friend.”His voice is softer now. “I’ll helpyou, protect you.” In his newbrown uniform, blond, blueeyed, he looks like the boys onthe Nazi posters I have seen.

The Cage, Chapter 3

HOMEWORK READING (continued)

The Cage, Chapters 2 and 3

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Indoctrination and Discrimination 153

He touches my hand. I pullaway. “Why are you movingaway from me?” he asks, bewil-dered. “Why are you crying?”

“I am crying for both of us,Harry. I am crying for both ofus…” I run to my bed and burymy head in the pillow.

Later his family stands calmlyby, watching Volksdeutsche robour home. Our tile oven, usedto heat the house, attracts Mr.Brown, the farmer who hasdelivered potatoes to us formany years.

“Mr. Brown,” Mama pleadswith him with tears in her eyes.“Mr. Brown, it is winter. It isbitter cold. My children willfreeze. Please don’t take theoven now. I will give it to you assoon as it gets a little bitwarmer. But not now, please.We have nothing else to keepthe house warm.” She standsbetween him and the oven, beg-ging for her children’s sake.

He pushes her roughlyaside, puts rope around theoven, ties the rope around him-

self, and carries the oven to hiswagon without saying a word.

“Mrs. Gruber!” Mama callsdesperately. “Please stop him!Help me!” Tears pour from hereyes now. “You are my friend.He’ll listen to you! Don’t let mychildren freeze!” She turns toOlga. “Please, Olga, have pity!Help me!”

“Don’t worry, Nacha,” Olgasays calmly. “You will not behere much longer. You will allbe gone soon.”

She walks over to the closetand opens it wide. My UncleChaim, a furrier, left several furcoats for safekeeping. She takesthe coats and puts them overher shoulder.“You will not need these,either,” she says in a chillingvoice, walking out the door.

We all stand motionless,shocked, betrayed, helpless.

“You will pay for yourcrimes!” Mama cries out. “Godwill punish you for what youare doing! German blood willflow, just as Jewish blood isflowing in the streets!

Remember my words, Mrs.Gruber! Remember!”

Mrs. Gruber, her arms filledwith our possessions, turns toMama in a rage. “Be silent! Godis with us! I could have you killedfor your insane outcry, Nacha!”

Mama looks at her in sud-den terror. Is this the womanshe has known all her life, herfriend in happiness and sorrow?“What happened to you? Whathappened to you?” she whispers.

Standing in the doorway,Mrs. Gruber calls out, “Nextweek I am sending men to chopdown the oak tree. I do notwant you Jews to enjoy thebeauty of my tree.”

“Mrs. Gruber, you took ourhomes, you took our belong-ings, you took our pride,” Mamasays in a strange voice. “Takeyour tree. The dead tree will helpus remember what you became.”

Mrs. Gruber stares at Mamafor a moment. The she turnsand walks out.

I run to Mama’s arms. “Whydid they betray us like this?” Iwhisper. “Why? Why?”

Ruth Minsky Sender, The Cage (New York: Puffin Books, 1987).

QUESTIONS1. What is the Volkdeutsche and why would Mrs. Gruber, Olga, and Harry join this group?

2. How does Harry act while wearing the Hitler Youth uniform? How does Ruth react?

3. Mama calls out to Olga for help as Mr. Brown steals the oven used for heating the house. What isOlga’s prophetic reply?

4. What does Mama prophesy?

5. How does the relationship between neighbors change from Chapter 2 to Chapter 3?

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154 Indoctrination and Discrimination

REFERENCES Bachrach, Susan D. The Nazi Olympics: Berlin 1936. Boston: Little,

Brown, 2000.

Fenton, Edwin, John M. Good, Linda W. Rosenzweig, and GeorgeM. Gregory. Teacher’s Guide for the Shaping of Western Society.New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1974.

Harris, Mark Jonathan, and Deborah Oppenheimer. Into the Armsof Strangers: Stories of the Kindertransport. London:Bloomsbury, 2000.

Hilberg, Raul. Documents of Destruction. Chicago: QuadrangleBooks, 1971.

Hogan, David, and David. Aretha, eds. The Holocaust Chronicle: AHistory in Words and Pictures. Lincolnwood, IL: PublicationsInternational, 2000.

New York Times. “Nazis Now Drive to Complete Their Program.”November 20, 1938.

“Propaganda and Sports.” In Facing History and Ourselves:Holocaust and Human Behavior. Brookline, MA: FacingHistory and Ourselves National Foundation, 1994.

Sender, Ruth Minsky. The Cage. New York: Bantam DoubledayDell, 1988.

Sherrow, Victoria. Holocaust: Smoke to Flame. Woodbridge, CT:Blackbirch Press, 1998.

University of the State of New York, Education Department.Teaching About the Holocaust and Genocide. Vol. 2 of HumanRights Series. Albany, New York, 1985. (Reprinted from Trialsof the Major War Criminals Before the International MilitaryTribunal, vol. 30 (Nuremberg, Germany: 1948).

PhotosCourtesy of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum

AcknowledgementsEvery effort has been made to secure complete rights and permis-sions for each selection presented herein. Updated acknowledge-ments, if needed, will appear in subsequent printings.