Anti Semitism And The Nazi War

One event that encouraged Anti-Semitism and increased tensions leading up to Kristallnacht and beyond was the announcement of the Nuremberg Laws in September of 1935. This set of laws created by the Nazi party made sharp distinctions between the rights and privileges of Germans and Jews (Sigward 291). This redefined citizenship in the Third Reich and laid the groundwork for a racial state. For example, the Reich of Citizenship Law stripped Jews of their citizenship, claiming they didn’t have “German blood” (Sigward 291). Those of Jewish descent were denied the right to vote and the ability to obtain a valid passport or visa to leave the country. This law completely dehumanized Jews living in Germany and made them stateless, which caused those of the Aryan race or pure German descent to feel superior. In the Nuremburg Laws, Article 5 of the First Regulation to the Reich Citizenship Law defined a Jew as a descendant of three or more Jewish grandparents or two Jewish parents (Sigward 293). These laws lead to the Jews being persecuted for who they were, rather than the faith they believed during previous years. As a result of these laws being carried out, German nationalism and Anti-Semitism across the Reich increased drastically .

“All propaganda has to be popular and has to accommodate itself to the comprehension of the least intelligent of those whom it seeks to reach”.(Hitler)His propaganda was specifically intended towards the Jews, and his promise was to eviscerate the jewish culture. His attempt succeeded, and many of the Germans agreed with him, because he gave them a reason too. Hitler's rhetoric was unforeseen at the time, and many were overwhelmed. “The broad masses of a population are more amenable to the appeal of rhetoric than to any other force”(Hitler). He forced the blame towards the Jews in his propaganda, and he gave the people a reason to believe that he was right. Soon after the Jews were disappearing, more people started to follow him. His techniques

World War II is recognized universally as a time of extreme anti-Semitism and hatred in Europe. However, while this was happening, the United States also harbored anti-Semitism: while the Third Reich was assembling Jews into concentration camps, the U.S. was denying Europeans Jewish refugees entry and asylum from the horrors of the Nazi regime. Despite the fact that this was almost 80 years ago, it may appear as though nothing has changed in the United States; although Americans in the 21st century may accept Jews more than they did during World War II, they still express prejudice against Jews through stereotypes, microaggressions,

All media was controlled by the Nazis. Newspapers, radio stations, films obeyed and said what the Nazis told them to. A number of rallies were put on to emphasise just how strong Nazi Germany was. Goebbels was in charge of this and was also very successful. He was able to persuade people into believing that Hitler and the Nazis were right. All Nazi view points on everything were always emphasized. Groups opposing the Nazis such as socialist, communists, liberals, democrats, Jews and other group were targeted by the Nazis. All books were censored, over 2500 authors banned and many books burnt on the streets. Propaganda manipulated Hitler’s image very carefully so that he would be portrayed as a kind, hardworking man with simple tasks.

Hitler and the Nazis used propaganda to suppress the Jews’ freedoms and human rights. Films portrayed Germans as powerful and mighty while showing the Jews to be “subhuman creatures” (United States Holocaust Memorial Museum 1). German newspapers portrayed Jews in their cartoons as anti semitic caricatures while radios played Hitler’s manipulative speeches all over Germany. By dehumanizing Jewish people through propaganda, Hitler was able to encourage Germans to support the Nazis and look down on the Jews. Without propaganda, less people would have been motivated to support Hitler.

Beginning in 1920 in the form of propaganda on the side of typical consumer items and lasting all the way until mid-1945, Nazi anti-Semitism had been a prominent characteristic of the Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei (National Socialist German Workers’ Party). Nazi anti-Semitism has often been considered an anomaly from the anti-Semitism that Europe had traditionally practiced, because of its deliberate execution of the Jewish Question and the horrific cruelty that took place during the Holocaust. It is no question that Nazi anti-Semitism was remembered for its unmatched hatred of the Jews; however, the influence from European anti-Semitism in the medieval times was heavy. The Nazis’ adoption of the “Jew badge”

Propaganda was arguably one of the most effective ways for ideas to be spread around rapidly, this was shown in Hitler's autobiography, Mien Kampf, in which he states: "Propaganda tries to force a doctrine on the whole people….. Propaganda works on the general public from the standpoint of an idea and makes them ripe for the victory of this idea." It shows that Hitler understood the effectiveness of propaganda and utilised it to spread his anti-Semitist ideas towards the German people to create a negative image of the Jewish population. The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Webpage states that the Nazi propagandists "exploited pre-existing images and stereotypes, and portrayed Jews as an "alien race" that fed off the host nation, poisoned its culture, seized its economy, and enslaved its workers and farmers." This hateful depiction of the Jewish people was enough to create fire in the minds of the German population and drove them into an anti-Semitic frenzy, resulting in the German people expressing their rage against the Jews through violent means. The impact on the German people that was created by the slanderous depictions of Jews was extremely valuable to prepare them for the Holocaust, as the hatred for the Jews was so deeply

This program authorized doctors to destroy those who were “undesirable.” In Berlin, a state organization was formed, which allowed doctors to examine hospital and clinic records. When the doctors found patients who were deemed “incurable,” they marked their form with a “+”, which designated them to die. Between 1939 and 1941, doctors sentenced 70,000-100,000 Germans to death through their experiments in “perfecting methods of group killings” (Fishkoff). In an attempt to expose this program, a Tel Aviv filmmaker, Nitzan Aviram, made a ninety minute documentary entitled “Healing by Killing,” in which he records the domestic euthanasia campaign and, more specifically, the participation of the German doctors (Hareg). One aspect of this documentary that makes it original from any other is the fact that with the exception of one psychologist, there are no Jews in the film. Its focus is entirely on the “domestic German implications,” which gives the story “a powerful, if self-consciously ironic, twist” (Fishkoff). This film reinforces the fact that the Holocaust was not just against the Jews, but against all that did not fit the Nazi “mold.” “I did it on purpose,” Aviram says. “The Holocaust is so well known, and I had a story not as often told. The Holocaust started in the dark basements of German hospitals. All the elements were there. I wanted to tell that German story. . . These stories aren’t known in Germany. These people had not been interviewed before.”

Imagine yourself as a seven year old child, playing hide and seek in the neighborhood streets with your mischievous friends and enjoying life without a care in your mind. Where you go to school with a smile on your face excited about what the day has to bring, messing around and cracking jokes with your friends at lunch time, and later on getting picked up by your nurturing parents to go home and do homework and have some family time with your parents and siblings and finally going to bed in your warm and comfortable bed. Now imagine if all those wonderful things just disappeared and the world around you changes in one instant and turns into a fiery pit of hell, where evil men roam those streets you found refuge. All you hear is an unending sound of screaming, crying, and gunshots as mothers, fathers, brothers and sisters are forever separated not knowing where they are going. Anti-Semitism is the hatred of Jews, and it reached its pinnacle during the Holocaust. It’s known world wide as the genocide of approximately six million European Jews. Strikingly, there is a decent number of people in the world who don 't entirely believe that the Holocaust happened as it is documented by witnesses, survivors, and those tasked with rescuing those who survived, and burying those who did not. These people are known as Holocaust Revisionists; or in another term, “deniers.”

The Nazi regime had a top-notch propaganda ministry of the time. In fact, the government was able to adjust the public’s idea quickly. For the most part, They were able to control all media sources. As shown above, The public thought that the Jewish community was responsible for the hardship that they faced after the WWI. Furthermore, The head of the propaganda minister, Joseph Goebbels was able to accomplish his goals by keeping the public from watching or listening to anti-Nazi ideas and to construct Nazi ideas are compelling to the audience (Trueman).

Have you ever wondered how Hitler got the Germans on his side, or how he started anti semitism throughout the country. Anti Semitism is the prejudiced against Jews. He killed up to 6 million Jews in an event known as the holocaust. Hitler was a ruthless dictator that tried conquering the world during world war two. He killed anyone in his path and took never took no for an answer Hitler’s leadership was significant throughout Germany because he got German Nationalism started in the country, He destroyed the Weimar republic and rebuilt a dictatorship in Germany with the help of the Nazis , And made the majority Germans anti Semitic.

Prior to his upbringing and continuing, anti-Semitism propaganda was abundant in production. Nonetheless, Hitler established a Reich Ministry of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda headed by Joseph Goebbels. The Ministry's aim was to ensure the Nazi’s anti-semitic message was successfully spread through any mode of communication. The propaganda reignited the resentment and underlying hatred inside every German through the exploitation of anti-semetic myths entrenched in the European culture for generations. Propaganda also encouraged passivity and acceptance of the impending measures against Jews, as these appeared to depict the Nazi government restoring

Through propaganda, the Nazis’ ideals are spread effectively to the people so that they have the support as a complete country, accomplishing the first step in their plans. For the Germans, “propaganda [is] the tool by which nearly every facet of German life [dictates]” (Kinser???). Propaganda has become a stepping stone for what the Germans has to offer, even more to anti-semitism. Similarly, the ideologies of German are anti-semitic so they use that to their advantage, combining it with propaganda even though most images are false. The Germans blames the Jews for all their errors and has become the scapegoats for Hitler. All the posters about Jews by the Germans, “[has] little to no truth behind them, but [are] rather elaborate myths [that are created] to single out a group of people that [are] seen as a threat” (Kinser?). This prompts to unity amongst the people with the same perspective toward a single race.

Much has been argued regarding the existent of anti-Semitism and the general disdain for Jewry supposedly apparent in the plays of William Shakespeare. Time and again his work is held up as representative of that which we - with our 21st century sensibilities - have been educated to abhor and disavow. The hatred of man because of race, color or creed has, within the collective conscience been largely rejected. The fostering of a self-regulating society has engrained contemporary sensibilities through the policy of political correctness: a body politic of public consciousness that wasn’t apparent in 16th century England or anywhere else in the western world for that matter. All were liable to open ridicule via the medium of theatre, be they king or pauper, man or woman, Moore or Jew as evidenced by the writing of the period. Everybody and everything - much to the delight of the paying public and the disdain of the censor - was fair game. The subject – Jew, Moore etc. - is irrelevant, as the subjects themselves are simply the masks upon which the foil of disdain is played. Whether xenophobic, racist, misogamist or anti-Semitic - or any other form of depredation - Shakespeare’s writing, rather than guilty of one, is representative of all. Shakespeare uses the Jew as a representation rather than as an example and therefore, can be forgiven for what we today would class as anti-Semitism. The dearth of Jewry at this particular period of history in England supports this and

The Nazis believed in complete loyalty and obedience. One of the tools they used to encourage this was propaganda. This ministry of propaganda and enlightenment controlled the mass media, press, films and the education system. Propaganda played a big part in Nazi Germany, because propaganda was used to spread Nazi ideology. Josef Goebbels was the minister of propaganda.