Anti-Semitism In Germany

The motive of this investigation is to analyze the extent of which the Volksgemeinschaft policy affected the rising of German anti-Semitism. The policy arose from the yearning of a society in which there would be less to no differences in class and more unification within the people. The Volkgemeinschaft itself can be defined as a “people’s community.” One of the aspects to consider when analyzing the importance of the Volksgemeinschaft is the terrific and grand impact it had on millions of people. Many people in recent years, as well as in previous years have had numerous unanswered questions about this policy, and this researcher intends to answer a major and essential question; the effect of the policy on German anti-Semitism. Some of the ways in which this investigator plans to analyze and answer this inquiry include collecting information from various reputable internet sites, as well as books such as Michael Wildt’s “Hitler 's Volksgemeinschaft and the Dynamics of Racial Exclusion,” and newspaper articles regarding the policy. The parameter to this investigation will be within the time frame of 1919 and 1939 during which we can see the various changes in German society taking place.

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 .

Consistent with Rossel, Germany has had a past of anti-Semitism, starting in 1542 when the great German Protestant leader Martin Luther wrote a booklet called Against the Jews and Their Lies. Even earlier the Catholic Churches had taught that the Jewish people killed Crist and should therefore be hated (10). Early teachings of anti-Semitism lead to a hating of the Jewish community, but with the German’s calling themselves the “Aryan Race” and the Jewish people calling themselves the “chosen one’s” there was bound to be competition on who was superior.

At the end of WWI in 1918, Germany’s economy was in ruins. There were very few jobs, and bitterness began to take over the country. According to the text, “Hitler, a rising politician, offered Germany a scapegoat: Jewish people. Hitler said that Jewish people were to blame for Germany’s problems. He believed that Jews did not deserve to live.” (7) This was the birth of Antisemitism--prejudice against Jewish people. Europe’s Jewish people have always been persecuted due to their “different customs and beliefs that many viewed with suspicion.”(7) Hitler simply reignited the flames, and a violent hatred was born.

Anti-Semitism as a term to describe hatred of Jews was not used until the second half of the nineteenth century, but a bias against Jews had existed for thousands of years. This resentment of the Jews as a people can be traced back to theological roots as well as practical concerns in early Europe. The most significant and accepted origin of anti-Judaism is the death of Jesus. Jews were branded as the murderers of Christ and Jesus’ followers developed a deep hatred of them. This undertone to Christianity endured over time and became an inherent facet of the religion. Later, when Jews attempted to assimilate into European societies, they faced strong discrimination and resistance. Other citizens viewed them as economic competition. In addition, negative stereotypes evolved about the Jews in relation to their

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”

The holocaust was a time of pure darkness. The German Nazi’s thought their race would be better off without Jews and so they decided to kill them off. The Nazi’s were a group who was under Adolf Hitler’s control and had the power to kill Jews. The Nazi’s were basically Hitler’s soldiers. Adolf Hitler was the current Chancellor of Germany during that time. The Nazi’s however did not only target Jews which accounted for nine million of Europe’s population alone, but also homosexual’s, Jehovah’s witnesses, Gypsies, disabled individuals, Poles, Soviet prisoners of war, communists and socialists. The holocaust plays a role in the start of World War II. During the war, the Nazi’s managed to wipe out hundreds of Jewish communities and ended up killing around six million people total. They used to make Jews wear a badge on their clothes when going anywhere to show everyone they were Jewish. It used to be a law for Jews to wear such garments up until the nineteenth century and if they failed to do so, there was severe punishment. This is how Nazi’s chose whom to persecute.

Throughout the history of political parties and factions, none has been so infamous as that of the Nazi party. They were the world’s enemies for a decade in the early twentieth century, and still continue to stir up controversy throughout the world. Understanding what the Nazis believed in, how anti semitism contributed to Nazi beliefs, and if Nazis still exist today helps to conclude why they did certain actions.

"It all happened so fast. The ghetto. The sealed cattle car. The fiery altar upon which the history of our people an the future of mankind were meant to be sacrificed."-Elie Weisel. Imagine you wake up one morning and everyone around you was being beaten, killed, put in jail, all because they are Jewish, Gypsies, Handicapped, Slavic people, Homosexuals, Jehovah's Witnesses, and many others. So many people suffered during the holocaust, and it all started when the Anti-Semitism Nazi leader Adolf Hitler decided that they were an "Inferior race" and a threat to German racial purity and community. It effects today by giving us remembrance of the sinister things that happened during Hitler's reign of power.

When I think of America I picture the land of the free, sanctuary for all those being hurt and oppressed, but this wasn’t always the case and just like the majority of the world during the 1930-1940’s they shunned the Jewish population. Why had a country who had been built on the principles of freedom allowed so much time to pass by silently waiting while the Jewish population was being slaughtered all over Europe. What could be the reason for doing nothing for so long, could it have been the fact that they were completely unaware of what exactly was going on in Europe during this time or did they just not care enough to do anything about it. After the war finished many German People claimed that they didn’t know what exactly was happening during this time to the Jews so if this was happening over there and they were in the dark about it as well who could possibly blame America who was thousands of miles away to know.

The Holocaust was the systematic murder of the Jews in Europe by the German Nazis during the Second World War. Between 1933 and 1945 in any location that Hitler controlled, Jews were systematically selected for discrimination and extermination as Hitler attempted to make his land Judenrein, free of Jews. Upon their rise to power in 1933, Nazi Germany persecuted Jews in Germany with laws and propaganda, even blaming the country’s economic trials on Jews and calling for their removal from positions of authority. This anti-Semitism became violent during Kristallnacht, in which Jewish businesses were destroyed in Germany. The anti-Semitism continued into WWII, when the Nazis began the mass shootings of Jews by mobile killing squads made up of Nazis

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.

There is always an entity in the air, a presence that encroaches beneath the ground, or even an engrossing feeling that is within the human psyche. This invisible social force that influences everyday life is called prejudice, to which the excruciating backlash Jews have received for their cultural identity and traditions even has a term for it: anti-semitism. There are a large variety of anti-semitic myths that been associated by inaccurate stereotypes to which ignorance continues to breed. In order to properly understand how to debunk these pigeonhole categories, three particular myths will be explored to further comprehend how anti-semitism was in the past and how it currently relates to contemporary times. Jews known for contributing to well poisoning during the Black Death alongside how this group has been linked to being known as “Christ killers” and “ritual murders” provide an ugly, erroneous portrayal that harms the Jewish community and should be ended immediately.

The year is 1933. A new political power has emerged in Germany, and is quickly expanding its' reach throughout the country. The Nazi Party, led by charismatic leader Adolf Hitler, has appealed to the German people, anxious for decisive action that will reverse the economic downturn they had been experiencing. Although the German people gave power to the Nazi party because of their determination for change and while under the impression that compromise with their more extreme ideologies would occur, the Nazi party would prove to be unrelenting. For the Jewish population in Germany between the Nazi seizure of power in 1933 and the outbreak of WWII in 1939, life became progressively worse with each passing year until life in Germany as a Jew

Before the nineteenth century anti-Semitism was largely religious, based on the belief that the Jews were responsible for Jesus' crucifixion. It was expressed later in the Middle Ages by persecutions and expulsions, economic restrictions and personal restrictions. After Jewish emancipation during the enlightenment, or later, religious anti-Semitism was slowly replaced in the nineteenth century by racial prejudice, stemming from the idea of Jews as a distinct race. In Germany theories of Aryan racial superiority and charges of Jewish domination in the economy and politics in addition with other anti-Jewish propaganda led to the rise of anti-Semitism. This growth in anti-Semitic belief led to Adolf Hitler's rise to power and eventual