Racial Policies of Anti-Semitism and Genocide

Flashcards reviewing the racial policies of anti-Semitism and genocide, focusing on the historical context, Nazi policies, and key events leading to the Holocaust.

What political and economic weaknesses contributed to the growth of anti-Semitism in the Weimar Republic?

The self-deception of the ‘stab in the back’ myth, the humiliation of the Treaty of Versailles, and the political and economic weaknesses.

What myth contributed to the rise of right-wing volkisch nationalism?

The stab in the back myth.

Approximately how many right-wing racist parties existed in the early 1920s in Germany?

About 70.

List factors contributing to the Growth of anti-Semitism

Death of Christ, Wealth + position, Need for scapegoats, Influx of Jews from Tsarist Russia, problems after 1918 worldwide Jewish conspiracy

How did Hitler mobilize anti-Semitism within the Nazi movement?

He exploited hostility towards Jews + turned it into a radical ideology of hatred, and mobilized the support of leading anti-Semitic Nazis through his charismatic skills.

What was the Nazi approach to anti-Semitism in its early stages?

Gradualist (Cumulative radicalisation).

What made opposition to Nazi anti-Semitism difficult for Germans?

The futility of opposition after the dictatorship was established and the risk to one's own freedom or life for showing sympathy to Jews.

What happened on April 1, 1933, regarding Jewish businesses?

A one day national boycott of Jewish-owned shops, cafes and businesses.

Why did the Nazi leaders develop their anti-Semitism in a subtler way?

The boycott was not universally accepted by the German people + it caused bad publicity abroad.

What made it legally possible to initiate an anti-Jewish policy?

The enabling act.

What were the Nuremburg Laws?

Laws that blocked the Civil rights Jews had enjoyed in WR.

What was the overall trend of laws affecting Jews in Nazi Germany?

Discrimination against Jews got worse as an ongoing range of laws were introduced.

What was the official boycott of Jewish shops and professions?

An attempt to prevent further violent anti-Jewish attacks by Nazi radicals.

Why did Hitler call off the boycott of Jewish shops after only one day?

International protests + the likely effects of retaliation.

What was the Law for the Restoration of the Professional Civil Service?

A law which excluded Jews from the civil service.

What were the key components of the Nuremberg Laws of 1935?

The Reich Citizenship Act, which stripped Jews of their citizenship, and the Law for the Protection of German Blood + German Honour, which forbade marriages and extramarital relations between Jews and German citizens.

What did the Decree for the registration of Jewish Property (26th April 1938) entail?

That all Jewish property worth more than RM5000 be valued + registered with the state.

What professions were Jews prohibited from in 1938?

Practicing medicine (doctors) and journalism

What happened to Polish Jews resident in Germany on 28th October 1938?

A decree to expel 17,000 Polish Jews resident in Germany.

What was the impact of the decree of 12th November 1938?

Decree to exclude Jews from German Economic life

What restrictions were placed on Jewish pupils in November 1938?

Law excluding Jewish pupils from schools + universities.

What freedoms were restricted for Jews by the law of 28th November 1938?

Law restricting the freedom of movement of Jews e.g., public swimming pools + theatres.

What occurred with Jewish businesses due to the law of 3rd December 1938?

Law for the compulsory closure + sale of all Jewish businesses.

What was the decree of 1st September 1939 regarding Jews?

Decree for the introduction of curfew for Jews.

How did Goebbels use propaganda to promote anti-Semitism?

He used his propaganda skills to indoctrinate the German people to hate Jews and censored all aspects of culture associated with the Jews.

Give examples of propaganda used to spread anti-Semitism

Posters + signs, Newspapers, Cinema

What was the focus of the revised curriculum in schools regarding Nazi racism?

Reinforcing Nazi racism, E.g., through studying negative portrayals of Jews in literature + history.

What was the 'Action against the Un-German Spirit'?

A nationwide action to climax in a literary purge or cleansing.

Why did anti-Semitic violence become more sporadic after the Night of the Long Knives?

Anti-Semitic campaign was suspended in 1936 due to the Berlin Olympics + the need to avoid international alienation and Conservative forces still has a restraining influence on the regime.

How did Schacht and other conservatives restrain anti-Semitic policies?

By express[ing] worried about the implications of anti-Semitic action on the economy.

What event led to increased violence and humiliation for the Jewish population in Austria?

Anschluss with Austria

What was the initial treatment of Jews in Austria following the Anschluss?

Jewish properties and businesses were looted, particularly in Vienna, and some Jews were made to publicly wash buildings + pavements.

What did Goring do after being encouraged by the events in Austria?

Passed a ‘Decree for the Registration of Jewish Property’

What was Kristallnacht?

The “Night of Broken Glass” signalled a more brutal attitude towards the Jews + represented the first example of systematic violence against the Jewish people.

What prompted the Kristallnacht pogrom?

The assassination of Ernst von Rath, a German diplomat, by Herschel Grunspan, a Polish Jew on 7th November in Paris.

What were the key events of Kristallnacht?

The destruction of numerous Jewish homes + 100 deaths, Attacks on 100,000 Jewish shops + businesses, The burning down of 200 synagogues, The deportation of 200,000 Jewish people to concentration camps.

Who coordinated the Kristallnacht pogrom?

Goebbels

What was Goring's reaction to Kristallnacht?

Chair[ed] an inter-ministerial meeting on Jewish policy which agreed on the decree to exclude Jews from German Economic Life.

What was the purpose of the Reich Central Office for Jewish Emigration?

Forced emigration

Who oversaw the Central Office for Jewish Emigration in Vienna?

Adolf Eichmann

What action did Eichmann take?

Forced the emigration of 45,000

Who ran the Reich Central Office for Jewish Emigration in Germany?

Heydrich and Eichmann

What was the overall impact of emigration policies on the Jewish population in Germany?

It is estimated half the Jewish population had left Germany before the outbreak of war (250,000).

What was the significance of the year 1938 in the radicalization of Nazi anti-Semitism?

The laws, the violence connected with Kristallnacht + the forced emigration came together.

What did Hitler say in his Reichstag speech on 30th January 1939?

'If the international Jewish financiers in and outside of Europe should succeed in plunging the nations once more into a world of war, then the result will not be the Bolshevising of the earth, + thus the victory of Jewry, but the annihilation of the Jewish race in Europe.'

What was the effect of war on Anti-Semitic policy?

War had a crucial effect on anti-Semitic policy as it increased the number of Jewish people in German territory.

What groups were the SS Einsatzgruppen sent to destroy?

All elements of resistance + to ‘render harmless’ the Polish leadership.

What was the Warthgau?

Territories annexed + incorporated into the Reich.

What was the General Government?

Area not annexed by the Reich but controlled by Germany.

How were Polish Jews treated immediately after the German invasion?

Violent persecution started immediately. The army encouraged its soldiers in the degrading, humiliating + arbitrary torturing of Jews. There were many cases of mass shootings.

What initial plans were made for Jewish people?

Plans to resettle large numbers of people in the Lublin reservation in the south-west corner of the General Government

How was the policy of ghettoisation achieved?

Jewish ghettos [were] established in cities such as Lodz, Warsaw, Krakow + Lublin.

In what ways were ghettos hazardous to Jewish people

Food – supplied were reduced which resulted in deaths through malnutrition., Disease – Poor sanitation + cramped living conditions led to diseases such as typhus + TB., Heating – Limited access to fuel caused hardship + deaths during the harsh Polish winters.

What was the significance of Operation Barbarossa for Jews?

The SS Einsatzgruppen moved in behind the advancing armies and Jews + communists were rounded up + executed in mass shootings.

Approximately how many Russian Jews had been killed by the end of 1941?

600,000

What has never been found?

No written order for the killing of the Jews from Hitler

When was the Wannsee Conference?

20th January 1942

What best describes the Wannsee Conference?

Coordinating the logistics, clarifying German law + securing the various agencies of police, finance, labour + transport.

List the extermination centers in Poland?

Auschwitz, Sobibor + Treblinka

What was the ultimate fate of Polish Jews?

Most the Polish Jews were cleared from their ghettos + then transported by train to appalling conditions to their deaths in the gas chambers.

What was the total number of European Jews who died in the Holocaust?

6 million

When was it likely that the extermination policy was decided?

Probably around autumn 1941

What might the final solution be viewed as?

A pragmatic response to the confusion and chaos of war in 1941- 43 rather than the culmination of long term ideological intent.

What was the plan for Jews before WWII

Emigration (Madagascar) to remove the Jewish presence from Germany