Nazi Germany: Laws, Persecution, Censorship, and Society

Vocabulary flashcards covering key policies, events, figures, and social roles in Nazi Germany, including the Nuremberg Laws, Kristallnacht, the Burning of Books, and the roles prescribed for women.

Nuremberg Laws (1935)

Laws introduced on 15 September 1935 that stripped Jewish people of German citizenship and basic rights, banned marriage and sexual relationships between Jews and non-Jewish Germans, classified people as Jewish based on ancestry, and embedded antisemitism into German law.

Kristallnacht (1938)

A wave of widespread, organised violence occurring on 9–10 November 1938 (also called the Night of Broken Glass) in which Jewish homes, businesses, and synagogues were attacked and destroyed, thousands of Jewish men were arrested and sent to concentration camps, and Jewish communities were forced to pay for the damage.

Ernst vom Rath

The German diplomat whose shooting by Herschel Grynszpan served as a pretext for the Nazi attacks during Kristallnacht.

Herschel Grynszpan

The individual who shot German diplomat Ernst vom Rath, an act that Nazis used as a pretext to launch the attacks of Kristallnacht.

Burning of Books (1933)

A campaign on 10 May 1933 across many German cities where Nazis burned books considered “un-German”—including works by Jewish, communist, and liberal authors—to suppress opposing ideas and enforce cultural censorship.

Joseph Goebbels

The Nazi propaganda minister who supported the 10 May 1933 campaign of burning books considered "un-German."

Kinder, Küche, Kirche

A slogan promoted by the Nazis meaning "children, kitchen, church," reflecting the regime's belief that women's primary roles were to be wives and mothers.

Mother’s Cross

An award created by the Nazis to reward eligible women who had many children considered racially desirable by the regime.

League of German Girls (BDM)

A Nazi organisation that taught girls domestic skills, fitness, and Nazi beliefs to prepare them to support Nazi ideology and population objectives.