Discussion of the Importance of Economic Factors in the Changing Nature of Jew-hating

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.

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.

In the 1930's the Wall Street crash occurred and the Jews having an image of being well educated and very wealthy and selfish due to all their large important businesses they ran in Germany. Hitler portrayed an image of the Jews to the Germans as though the reason why some Germans are out of jobs is because the Jews have stolen their jobs and are invading Germany being 'parasites' and taking what belongs to 'pure' hardworking German people. Therefore when the economic situation in Germany was very low and the German economy was suffering from the depression, the Jews were blamed for having all the German money and for Germans being very poor and starving during the time of the depression in the 1930's. Despite the fact the Jewish people were not particularly communist at all, due to Hitler being anti- communist, this was another act of using them as scapegoats. Anti - Semitism had been current in Europe for centuries, even since the days of 'Christ'.

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.

Racial antisemitism was born in the Nineteenth Century when laws were passed in many European countries posing the Jewish people as second-class citizens, not receiving the same rights as others in society. While they had reached a level of religious emancipation in some countries, Judaism had become recognized as an ethnicity as well, and this ethnic difference from the Aryans therefore made them “inferior.” Pogroms began across Eastern Europe in the late 1800’s which resulted in

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

The hatred towards Jews was nothing new in that time. Throughout history Jews have been prosecuted and blamed for many of the world's problems, and Germany was the same. The treaty of Versailles was incredibly harsh on Germany as it extinguished the nations power and reduced its presets on an international scale. The Germany people especially hated the treaty of Versailles and they needed someone to blame, so lo and behold the hatred of Jews began in Germany. The TOV was signed and approved by Jewish politicians so many German peopled blamed Jews for the TOV. During the 1930s, many Jews where doctors, lawyers and bankers which

When looking at European history, it is easy to identify where the stereotypes against the Jews first originated. In Medieval Europe, for instance, Jews were limited to the types of occupations they could hold. They were banned from farming and entering guilds, so many of them became merchants and money-lenders (Singer). Since both these occupations dealt with the exchange money, dealing loans, setting prices, and charging interest, people began to stereotype the Jews as scheming merchants who demanded money from their customers, but refuse to give back the money they owed to others. Since then, the Jews have been popularly characterized as “cheap” individuals. Never before in history, however, has stereotyping against the Jews reached such a climatic level than in Third Reich during World War II. As the German economy was suffering from the affects of the war, many Germans blamed the Jews for the country’s decline since the Jews held positions in finance, commerce, and the press. When Germany’s most influential leader, Adolf Hitler, came to power in the year 1934, he confirmed that the Jews were the cause of the depression within the country, proclaiming that the Jews were greedy, evil, cowardly, and corrupting

The German Jews believed that assimilation was the future and only thought it would deepen and get better. Anti-Semitism was on the fringe of society and politics but some Jews remained reluctant to throw themselves into the German culture- they believed the good times would not last. They were not fuelled with this hope of everything being forgotten about Jews being ‘outsiders’ and ‘alien’ and that’s fair enough as some Jews were still until the 1930’s were being treated as

The hatred of Jews otherwise known as anti-Semitism is an ancient hatred that continued to develop and intensify over the course of two thousand years (United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, June 2014). The foundation of anti-Semitism was solidified by Christian declarations that attributed Jewish adherents with responsibility for the crucifixion of Jesus (United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, June 2014). Stereotypes and persecution quickly progressed, with the dispersal of Jews throughout European society regarded as an appropriate punishment for their ‘crimes’. Europe during the early centuries of the modern era was a society wherein religion was the basis of self-identity and public life. As Europe was predominately Christian, Jewish citizens were victimized through vicious stereotypes, exclusion from noble professions, scapegoating and countless other forms of oppression. Though the degree of mistreatment fluctuated over time, it was the transformation of anti-Semitism in the late nineteenth century from a religious hatred to a racial hatred that formed a much deeper and malignant type of Jewish animosity. This transformation was the result of widening acceptance of scientific concepts such as evolutionary theory. Through the support of Darwinian’s Theory of evolution, Social Darwinism and the notion

Anti-Jewish measures and pogroms have taken place numerous times throughout history, but never to the extent and successfulness attained by the Third Reich. A clear reason for this level of success can

German Attitudes Toward the Jews and the Final Solution There are those that claim that Hitler’s conscious personal hatred of the Jews, his unique and central role in the rise of Nazi Germany were fundamental in the development of the anti-Jewish policies that emerged leading to the final solution. However, there is strong evidence to suggest that the anti- Jewish feeling in Germany reflected a much stronger, widespread support amongst its people and this essay will examine the role and attitudes of the German people towards the Final Solution. On the 1st of April, 1933, the boycott of Jewish businesses reflected evidence of widespread anti Jewish feelings amongst the lower bureaucracy of the

The new information shared about the Great Depression, emphasized facts that supported and helped me to further understand the reasons which lead the Germans to detest the Jews. Following Germany’s World War One defeat for which Jews were blamed, in 1932, Germany was significantly affected by the Great Depression which resulted in the high unemployment rate of 30%. Given the vulnerability of the unemployed, Hitler was looking for a ‘scapegoat’ for the financial crisis they were facing. Jews in Germany were dominating the stock market, press and the banks,

At the start of the 19th century, anti-Semitism was an idea that was fading into history. During the 1800s, which was a period of political modernisation, social reforms and industrial growth across Europe, it delivered many legal reforms that for a short period of time improved the rights of Jews. For example, in 1830 the French government recognised Judaism as an official religion. However, despite these reforms anti-Semitism survived and during the mid 1800s it began to increase once again. The revival of this anti-Semitism can be said to be fueled by two significant political movements; German unification and Zionism.

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