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Jewish people in Germany
according to the census of June 16th 1933, 505,000/67 million were Jewish
this demonstrated a reduction in the number of Jewish people living in Germany from the estimated 523,000 in January 1933
this decrease was partly due to the emigration of Jewish people following the Nazi takeover in January 1933
80% of Jewish people (approx. 400,000 people) held German citizenship
70% of Jewish people in Germany lived in urban areas
50% of all German Jews lived in the 10 largest German cities
the largest population of Jews was in Berlin (approx. 160,000 people in 1925)
describe the evolution of Nazi persecution against Jewish people
persecution culminated in the Kristallnacht, where Jewish synagogues and shops were destroyed
this is significant as it highlighted the change from legal persecution to physical
Kristallnact caused 91 Jewish people to die, 30,000 Jews to be arrested and detained in concentration camps and 267 synagogues were destroyed
the Nazis wanted to destroy Jewish culture and heritage through this event
Nazi mentality was to remove any trace of Jewish people from Germany on both a small and large scale
the Nazis begun with ‘trivial’ persecutions, such as the exclusion of Jews from chess clubs and choirs
ultimately ending with the social, economic and political persecution of Jews
using terror tactics and violence
March 1933
Jewish lawyers are banned from conducting legal affairs in Berlin
Jewish judges are suspended from office
Department of Racial Hygiene is established
April 1933
Aryan and non-Aryan children are forbidden from playing together
Jews are excluded from sport and gymnastics clubs
April 1st 1933 - nationwide one-day boycott of Jewish businesses is enacted
August 1933
Jews are excluded from choirs
September 1933
‘Race Studies’ become part of the school examination syllabus
September 1935
Nuremburg Laws are passed
Jews are no longer ’citizens’; they are just ‘subjects’ with no rights
October 1936
Jews who convert to Christianity are still to be viewed as Jewish
April 1938
Jews must show how much they own to ensure that their wealth is being used in the interest of the German economy
October 1938
Jewish passports have to be stamped with a ‘J’
passports belonging to Jews whose emigration is undesirable are were confiscated
Jews who emigrated from Germany were not allowed to return
November 1938
time of Kristallnacht
all Jewish children were expelled from non-Jewish state schools
Jews are banned from owning and running businesses
January 1939
Jewish emigrants are not allowed to take valuable with them
March 1939
Jews have to remove the ruins of synagogues destroyed by rioters
reconstruction of synagogues is not allowed
assess the nature of anti-Semitic persecutor in Germany 1933 - October 1938
Nazi persecution on Jewish people begins on a smaller scale in 1933, with less support from local Germans
such as the ineffective boycott of Jewish establishments.
However, the Nazis begin to utilise law the aid their marginalisation of Jewish people
with the passing of The Nuremburg Laws, which stripped German Jews of their citizenship and reduced them to mere subjects of the Nazi state
This was a turning point, as legal persecution only ramped up from here
to the point where Jewish people were entirely excluded from society, with no support or respect from the German public.
November 9th-10th 1938
Kristallnacht occurred
April 1939
Jews could be evicted from their homes without a reason
why did the Nazis persecute Jewish people
because they were viewed as ‘untermensch’ to the Aryan, German race
the Nazis required scapegoat to blame for the humiliation of Germany’s defeat in WW1 in order to unite the German public
describe the problem of German unemployment 1932
in 1932, around 5.9 million Germans were officially unemployed
this number was in reality closer to 8 million
explain how Hitler benefitted from the economy
Hitler benefitted from the improvement of the economy in Autumn 1932 when he came into power
this is significant as Hitler could use this improvement in the economy as evidence of his reliability and strength
endearing him and the Nazis to lower-middle classes afraid of further economic instability
why was saving the economy important to Hitler
because previous socialist governments, such as the Weimar government, were seen to have created/worsened issues of unemployment
it was also crucial to Germany’s economic stability that every viable German had a job in order to generate more disposable income
Hitler promised to solve unemployment through the concept: Arbeit und Brot
volksgemeinschaft definition
the people’s community
who was excluded from the volksgemeinschaft
anti-Nazis
‘untermensch’ people
people with disabilities
people with mental health issues
homeless people
sex workers
LGBTQ+ members
describe the changes in unemployment in Germany 1932-1939
1933 - 6 million+ people were unemployed
1939 - approx. 35,000 were unemployed
what problems faced many German workers 1933-1939
by 1939, wages were still frozen at the 1933 rates
however prices were still rising
standards of employers and jobs were not up to standard
with many Germans working for over 50 hours per week
what was the Winterhilfe (winter relief fund)
voluntary tax
to provide soup stations for the poor
the SA pressured families to pay 3% of their earnings into this fund
mittelstand definition
medium-sized companies in Germany
that were viewed as an economic unit
‘Blood and Soil’ definition
idea of a racially-defined nation (blood)
united with the Motherland (soil)
DAF (German Labour Front) definition
the DAF replaced trade unions
this benefitted the Nazi state, not workers
KDF (Strength through Joy)
1939 - 29 million were signed up to KDF
KDF provided members with leisure activities such as cinema, sports, concerts and holidays
however, many workers were too tired from their gruelling work to indulge in these activities
Beauty of Labour
scheme designed to improve the lot of the workers on the factory floor
provided extra sanitary facilities such as showers, toilets and canteens
this scheme only tended to work for big companies and factories
there was, however, a major improvement in the quality of life for workers from big firms
Reich Labour Service
major paramilitary organisation
established to help mitigate the effects of unemployment on the economy
and to help militarise the population
whilst indoctrinating them with Nazi ideologies
Volkswagen scheme
programme set up to produce affordable cars for workers
Nazis utilised labour camps for unpaid labour to create these cars
women in Weimar
women had the vote (political freedom)
women served as deputies in the Reichstag - 112 in total
a very limited number of women held highly-coveted professional jobs
Scholtz-Klink on role of women, 1938
“the German woman must work […] physically and mentally; she must renounce luxury and pleasure”
Nazi rhyme about women
“take hold of kettle, broom and pan, then you’'ll surely get a man! […] your true life work lies at home”
Joseph Goebbels on the role of women
“mission of women is to be beautiful and bring children into the world … the female bird pretties herself for her mate”
characteristics of the ideal Nazi woman
conservative
racially pure (Brunnhilde)
desire to have children
domesticated
submissive
serious
what was the Honour Cross of the German Mother
award for women who had 6+ children
incentivised women to have more children
symbolism of the Honour Cross the German Mother
incentivised women to have children
directly portrayed the role of men (as demonstrated by war medals) as to serve on the battle field
and the role of women (as demonstrated by the Honour Cross) as to serve the home
explain how the Nazis encouraged motherhood
early marriages were encouraged
loans of 1000 RM were given in the woman gave up work
loan payments were reduced by 25% for each child the woman had
the Nazis gave out 250,000 of these loans
divorce was made easier, meaning people were able to leave infertile partners, but also leaving women financially vulnerable
Nazis reduced opportunities for women in professions and higher education
Honour Cross of the German Mother
Lebensborn (Spring of Life) centres allowed women to give up their children for adoption, as abortion was illegal
numerical changes in women in agriculture 1933-1939
1933 - 4.6 million
1939 - 4.9 million
numerical changes in women in industry 1933-1939
1933 - 2.7 million
1939 - 3.3 million
sterilisation
Nazi state tried to sterilise many women with ‘unfavourable characteristics’
more than 10,000 women died from The Hitler Cut
Irma Grese
concentration camp guard
hung for her war crimes in 1945
Grese was famous for her brutality against female detainees in concentration camps
Stella Kubler
Kubler was nicknamed ‘Jew catcher’
Kubler originated from a Jewish family
in the late 1930s, Kubler aided the Nazi party in ‘catching’ Jewish people by ingratiating herself witht hem
approximately 400 Jewish people were found due to her, the majority of them were executed
Kubler did this largely to protect her own Jewish family
however her family ended up being deported to Auschwitz, where they were killed
Adolf Hitler’s views on the youth 1939
“we older ones are […] bearing the burden of a humiliating past”
“young men and boys! What material!”
“with them I can make a new world”
state the aim of the Nazi education
to win the hearts and minds of the German youth
explain Hitler’s aims for Nazi education
Hitler recognised that a successful youth policy would strengthen both his personal position as leader and facilitate the long-term security of the Nazis
Hitler knew indoctrinating the youth with Nazi ideologies from young would be critical in his re-shaping of German society to build his “new world”
control of education was vital to the Nazis in eliminating alternative philosophies which challenge the regime
describe how the Nazis achieved their aims for Nazi education
youth-centred propaganda
Nazi youth groups
Nazi state education
coercion
describe the links between Nazi education and loyalty to Hitler
school children began day with the “Hail Hitler” greeting, initiated by teachers
Nazi prescribed curriculum emphasises Hitler’s greatness and how he saved Germany from economic collapse
in youth groups such as Hitler Youth and League of German maidens, Hitler was portrayed as a messiah, with the youth in these groups having a personal relationship with the Fuhrer
millions of copies of Mein Kampf were distribute din German schools (oral history projects indicate only a small minority actually read it)
explain how Nazi education would have affected history lessons
Nazi curriculum would be eager to emphasise the humiliation of Germany’s defeat in WW1
choosing to highlight how the socialist government led Germany to ruin through the Treaty of Versailles
the course would emphasise Hitler’s greatness and how Germany is thriving under his lead
creating natural distrust towards socialism, utilising negative cohesion
this would be done to justify Hitler’s foreign policy ideas and persecution of his political opponents
explain how Nazi education would have affected geography lessons
Hitler’s curriculum would present Germany as the centre of the world
justifying the expansion of Germany as an empire
and would make clear Germany’s opposing countries
explain how Nazi education would have affected physics and maths lessons
the curriculum would place an emphasis on applying maths and physics in extremely practical ways
such as learning how artillery is made
so Hitler could prepare the youth cohort for war
explain how Nazi education would have affected physical education lessons
physical education would focus on keeping both young men and women healthy
men so that they were prepared to be soldiers
and women so they would be able to have more children for Germany
explain how Nazi education would have affected German lessons
the curriculum would instil an intrinsic sense of national pride and patriotism
keeping the nationalistic ideals Nazi ideologies relied on alive
explain how the Nazis aimed to control education
outlawed denominational schools, making it impossible to present alternative ideologies to German youth
centralised control of education, increasing control over curriculum and teachers
during the 1930s, more teachers became prepared to promote Nazi ideology to strengthen the Nazi state
Jewish people were removed from the teaching profession in 1933
Nazi assured teacher loyalty by coercing teachers to join the NSLB (Nationalist Socialist German Teachers’ League), by 1937, 97% of teachers belonged to the NSLB
education of girls emphasised the rejection of modernity under the Weimar government and the reassertion of ‘traditional’ values such as domestication and child-rearing
single sex education was compulsory from 1939, emphasising the specific role of young women as future wives and mothers
academic routes of young women were limited
did the Nazi education policies create a more obedient but less academic youth
yes
German youth were taught exactly what to think and do, removing their autonomy
creating physical and mental obedience
which would have ruined their critical thinking skills
that could be helpful in war scenarios
during peace times, this obedience was useful to the Nazis to reduce opposition
but during war times, Germany required intelligent and initiative youth
how far do you think a Nazi education promoted commitment rather conformity to the regime
Nazi education placed a firm emphasis on commitment
as they knew that many of the older generations simply conformed to the party
instead of commitment
leading to higher rates of low-level opposition and resistance
Nazi youth groups for boys aged 10-14
Young German Folk
Nazi youth groups for girls aged 10-14
German Young Girls
Nazi youth groups for boys aged 14-18
Hitler Youth
Nazi youth groups for girls aged 14-18
League of German Maidens
explain the changes in Nazi attitudes towards their youth groups
in the early 1930s, membership of the Hitler Youth was voluntary
1936 - all other youth groups were banned
1939 - became compulsory to attend meetings
describe what Hitler’s boy youth groups focused on
fitness and sports
practical applications of education for warfare
military trainings
buildings things
describe what Hitler’s girl youth groups focused on
domestic chores
fitness to remain healthy
child-rearing
day trips
describe German youth attitudes towards youth groups
German youth enjoyed both socialising within their own gender and other genders
many would have enjoyed the activities held in early 1930s more than in the late 1930s
due to new emphasis on war strategy and preparation for the future
explain how did Hitler’s youth groups indoctrinate young people
group provided its members with a separate identity
through the use of a uniform, community and an atmosphere of discipline and respect
the group brought members together through their production of social and leisure activities
they also provided inexpensive holidays - a novelty that many members couldn’t previously afford
this emphasised the economic prosperity of Germany under Hitler
throughout this, the Nazis were indoctrinating the members with propaganda pertaining to politics and eugenics
making the youth groups a hub for Nazi-centred conversations
explain why many young people enjoyed being part of Hitler’s youth groups
provided the members with leisure activities, holidays and comradery
it also allowed members to meet people from different social backgrounds that may not have met otherwise
these groups provided a sanctuary for youth away from parents and societal expectations
