Initial Anti-Jewish Measures Source: FROM THE PRESENTATION Chapter 2 Introduction In spite of the centrality of the Jewish question to Nazi ideology, and in spite of their radical approach to it, the Nazis, upon their ascent to power, lacked a plan for concrete steps or clear objectives with regard to the Jews. Instead, initial measures were shaped by compromises made between the conflicting power bases. These measures took the form of attacks on Jewish businesses and places of employment. By spring 1933 a climate of terror prevailed, and the economic assault, guided by ideological considerations, had produced a nation wide Boycott and national legislation dismissing Jews from the civil service. More 'The Antisemite Does Not Worry About the How' From a Book by Gottfried Feder 'The Program of the Nazi Party', 1927: Antisemitism is in a way the emotional foundation of our movement. Every National-Socialist is an Antisemite, but not every Antisemite will become a National-Socialist. Antisemitism is something purely negative, the Antisemite has recognised the carrier of the plague of the nations, but this recognition is mostly transformed only into personal hatred against the individual Jews, and their successes in economic life. At its best Antisemitism makes the still entirely negative demand to eliminate the Jew from our political and economic life. The Antisemite as a rule does not worry about the how' and what then' . (Feder 17) From the Nazi Party Platform: . 4. Only Nationals ( Volksgenossen ) can be citizens of the state. Only persons of German blood can be nationals, regardless of religious affiliation. No Jew can therefore be a German national. 5. Any person who is not a citizen will be able to live in Germany only as a guest and must be subject to legislation for Aliens. 6. Only a citizen is entitled to decide the leadership and laws of the state. We therefore demand that only citizens may hold public office, regardless of whether it is a national, state or local office...'. (Documents on the Holocaust 15) Screen Street Violence Borne on the tide of their election victory, the rank and file of the Nazi Party took to the streets to vent their revolutionary passion. They wanted to see their revolution and their Antisemite platform implemented immediately and began by attacking the hated of what the Nazis erroneously thought of as symbols of Jewish economic power - stores and businesses. These attacks were local SA initiatives. Encouraged by the regional Nazi leadership ( Gauleiter ) and led by the lower echelons of the party, they nevertheless lacked central leadership and had no guiding anti Jewish plan. Indeed, at first, assaults against Jews were not the first priority. Until the elections of March 5, 1933 the SA directed most of its rage at members of leftist parties and other political opponents. But after the elections, all of Germany was convulsed in a wave of anti-Jewish terror. Screen Controlling the Radicals The German civil service, guided by conservative traditions that valued the preservation of law and order, opposed the spontaneous violence. The bureaucrats were disgusted by the SA's unbridled hooliganism. On March 14, 1933, [Interior Minister] Frick issued the following order to all the state governments: In many locations throughout the Reich, incidents of shop closures and threats against business owners have occurred. This is seriously detrimental not only to the shopkeepers but to the consumers and to the entire economy. The authority of the state and the restoration of trust, without which Germany cannot be rehabilitated, are also harmed by these wanton acts. For the sake of order and public security, I ask [you] to act resolutely against these deviants....' (Genschel 45) Screen The Nazi leadership recognised the lower echelons' need to vent their fierce hatred against National Socialism's ideological enemies. Those who led the regime identified with the radical forces unleashed by the Nazi revolution, and the SA's terror spree served to intimidate and paralyse all opponents of the regime. However, abdication of the responsibilities of central leadership could have disastrous results. Street violence could degenerate into general chaos and might imperil Nazi control, thus threatening the orderly take over of all ruling systems ( Gleichschaltung ). The conflicting tensions led to the emergence of a compromise among the various power centres, in which each pursued its own path. Boycott and Economic Exclusion Screen General Boycott Attacks on Jews increased in intensity from the middle of March 1933. Throughout Germany, Nazi rallies and media propaganda fuelled the anti-Jewish passions of the party rank and file. In several towns, the local SA and other Nazi groups organised boycotts against Jewish shops and businesses. In reaction to this indiscriminate and sporadic violence, the Nazi leadership sought to calm tempers and assert control over the party's membership. The government would select targets for co-ordinated attacks on its enemies and the party operatives would learn to respond with disciplined action and submission to the regime's authority. Accordingly, the government proclaimed and organised a general boycott of the Jews that would simultaneously attack all Jewish enterprises nation wide, but would be restricted to one day. More 1 Cabinet Discussion on the Boycott The boycott was announced as a defensive measure against the atrocity stories spread by Jewish organisations abroad. Reports by the foreign press about persecution of Jews in Germany and voices raised in some countries calling for a boycott against German goods were used by the Nazis as a pretext to stage their boycott. Political problems stemming from the planned boycott were discussed at a cabinet meeting on March 31, 1933. Although the boycott was not on the meeting's official agenda, the sensitive political situation required the Fuehrer's intervention. Among those in attendance were Hitler (Reich Chancellor), von Papen (Vice-Chancellor), von Neurath (Minister of Foreign Affairs), Schwerin von Krosigk (Minister of Finance), Goebbels (Minister of Propaganda) and Goering (Minister without portfolio). The Finance Minister stressed that the boycott would cause tax collection to decrease significantly. The Chancellor replied that the change would occur only in distribution. Instead of making their purchases at Jewish shops, people would buy at Christian shops. The Foreign Minister pointed out that the governments of England, France, and North America had explained in so many words that they were opposed to the Jewish atrocity stories. In view of such statements, it may be possible to avoid a boycott in Germany. The government of England may come out with such a statement before the end of the day.... The Chancellor of the Reich suggested that continuation of the boycott be postponed until Tuesday, April 4, if the governments of England and the United States make satisfactory statements against the incitement at once. Otherwise, the boycott will take place on Saturday, April 1, but with a moratorium until Tuesday, April 4. The Chancellor's proposal was unopposed.' (Akten der Reichskanzlei 276-7) More 2 Party Instructions for the boycott 'An order to the whole Party! Point 1: In every local branch and organisational section of the NSDAP Action Committees are to be formed immediately for the practical systematic implementation of a boycott of Jewish shops, Jewish goods, Jewish doctors and Jewish lawyers.... Point 2: The Action Committees are responsible for ensuring maximum protection for all foreigners.... Point 3: The Action Committees will immediately use propaganda and information to popularise the boycott.... Point 11: The Action Committees are responsible for ensuring that this entire struggle is carried out in complete calm and with absolute discipline. In future, too, do not harm a hair on a Jew's head...More than ever before it is now necessary for the whole party to stand in blind obedience, as one man, behind the leadership...'. (Voelkischer Beobachter 29 March 1) Boycott Day: April 1, 1933 On April 1, 1933, SA brownshirts stood vigil at the entrances to Jewish shops, clinics, and law offices across Germany. They plastered storefront display windows with broadsheets and carried signs urging Germans to boycott the Jews. Exemplary Discipline From the diaries of Joseph Goebbels, Minister of Propaganda and Public Enlightenment : 'The boycott against world wide [Jewish] atrocity stories is under way with full fury in Berlin and everywhere in Germany.... All the Jewish shops are closed. Vigils of SA men are standing in front of their entrances. The public is displaying solidarity. Exemplary discipline prevails everywhere. It is an impressive spectacle. Everything is taking place with consummate order.... A hundred thousand young members of the Hitler Youth movement march this evening. Their parade in the city haze is a magnificently beautiful sight. I speak to them on the occasion of the Bismarck memorial day.... The boycott action is halted at midnight, as we decided. We are now waiting to see its results in media propaganda and abroad." (Goebbels Diaries, 1 April 1933) Familiar Faces Turned into Raging Beasts Memoirs of Lola Landau, Jewish teacher of English and literature in Berlin: 'To my great astonishment, I noticed many familiar faces among those visible there: petty merchants, clerks who perhaps once had nodded to me courteously behind their desks. I observed the familiar features of the cigarette vendor at the corner kiosk, a fat man with laughing eyes who always loved to tell me jokes. Now his lips moved villainously and his eyes looked glazed. What has happened to these people? What devilish charm has turned them from easygoing, harmless people into raging beasts?' (Landau 285) Women Did Their Shopping Anyway Testimony of Hanna Gluecksmann, Hamburg: 'April 1, 1933 ¯ Boycott Day: Two Nazis stood in front of our shop and sought to stop the women from doing their shopping there. Most of them were the wives of working men. But they refused to be stopped. They entered the shop with their baskets and their children. It was a neighbourhood of working people, a Communist neighbourhood. And the shop was full. My father, pale as whitewash, closed the shop. We children called out: "leave it open, leave it open!" But my father did not have the courage, and he closed the business an hour later. There was such a commotion, and the men outside did not know exactly how to behave. They were afraid of these working men's wives...'(Kliner Fruck 83) The British Embassy: The Boycott Was Not Popular Report by the British Embassy, Berlin to the Foreign Office: Sir H. Rumbold (Berlin) to Sir J. Simon (Received April 21) No. 378 [C 3594/3 19/18]: Berlin, April 13, 1933. 'Sir, With reference to my dispatch no.329 of the 5th April, I have the honour to report that, so far as I am in a position to judge, the Jewish boycott on the 1st April has not been popular throughout the country. On the other hand, there has been no noteworthy revulsion or feeling in favour of the Jews, and the National Socialist party continue to maltreat and persecute individual Jews...'. (Documents of British Foreign Policy 38) Screen Economic Exclusion Although the authorities limited the boycott to one day and never renewed it, the Party organisations continued to encourage the economic exclusion of the Jews. These actions remained localised for the time being in accordance with the will of the central government, which actually prohibited boycotts on many occasions. In the meantime, the economic exclusion of Jews from German economic life was pursued in various other ways; including propaganda by the boycott committees, dismissal of Jewish workers, exclusion of Jews from unions and economic associations, and harassment of individual Jewish businessmen. Closing the Shop and Selling from Home From the testimony of Shimon Banai, son of a Jewish family, formerly of Berlin video: Shimon Banai : [The father had a shop that was closed in 1933 because of boycott and harassment. He continued sales from his home. The Christian clients still wanting to buy from him.] (Yad Vashem VD 1427) Difficulties with Clients From the testimony of Benjamin Sommer, son of a Jewish travelling salesman. Benjamin Sommer : [The father was a travelling salesman. Coming back from his trips he told of how clients made difficulties, refused to pay, threatened him with their dogs.] (Yad Vashem VD 1566) Button : From Screen to Impassable Rampart From the memoirs of Eric Lucas, son of a Jewish cattle dealer in the Aachen area: 'Immediately afterwards, all the peasants were forced to sell their livestock to the co-operative and Jews were barred from the market. In this fashion, the Aryan livestock traders took over the entire market. Trade continued to take place, without the co-operative and without the Jews. Old-time friends among the peasants sorrowfully asked the Jews not to come onto their premises again because people in high places could use this against them. Just the same, a few peasants came at night to buy or sell a cow, and the customers here and there organised to continue buying beef at the places where they had been doing so for years. However, the dangerous methods used by the new wielders of power showed that they knew exactly what the goal was and how to attain it. Gradually, the community and the villagers were separated by a descending screen that solidified into an impassable rampart.' (Lucas 53) More Attacks on Department Stores The Nazis made department stores one of their prime targets. Department stores had been a post World War I innovation, and were owned and controlled mostly by Jews. Nazi attacks on these stores were strongly supported by retail shopkeepers, who faced fierce competition from the department stores and fought back through party-affiliated merchants' organisations. For Us There is Only Implementation of the Party Plan. Declaration by Buerckel, Gauleiter of Pfalz, October 3, 1933: 'I am repeatedly asked about our views on the matter of the department stores and behaviour toward Jewish shops. They quote all kinds of regulations that may lead to misunderstandings. Therefore, I wish to make the following clear: 1.Even before the accession to power, we considered the department store a contemptible establishment that was driving retail shopkeepers out of business. This will remain our view in the future, too. I consider it strange that the matter need be mentioned at all. The same holds for the handling of the Jewish question. We veteran Nazis have no interest in the utterances of this or that high ranking Nazi. For us, there is only implementation of the Party plan, according to the will of the Fuehrer.' (Genschel 82) II. Legislation Screen Law for Restoration of the Professional Civil Service In several German states, Jews were dismissed from their civil service posts. - The civil service, which employed not only bureaucrats but university teachers and judges as well, was consecrated in German tradition. From the first days of the regime the Nazis desired to convert the civil service into a 'national' apparatus and to facilitate the retirement of all persons whom the regime deemed undesirable. The Law for the Restoration of the Professional Civil Service was passed on April 7, 1933. It permitted the dismissal of all civil servants of non-Aryan origin. A non-Aryan was defined as anyone who had at least one non-Aryan grandparent. More Excerpts from the text of the Law: '...To restore a national professional civil service and to simplify administration, civil servants may be dismissed from office in accordance with the following regulations, even where there would be no grounds for such actions under prevailing law. Paragraph 2: civil servants who have entered the service since November 9, 1918 without possessing the required or customary educational background or educational qualifications... Paragraph 3: 1) Civil servants who are not of Adecent are to be retired.... If they are honorary officials, they are to be dismissed from their official status.' (Documents on the Holocaust 39-40) Screen 2 Much of the country was favourably disposed to the Nazi demand to dismiss Jews from public service and from positions of economic power, provided that this was accomplished by means of legislation. At first, at the insistence of President Hindenburg, the law still protected those Jewish civil servants who had held their posts since the time of the Kaiser, had fought in the World War, or lost relatives at the front. Exemptions for Jewish War Veterans Hindenburg to Hitler April 4, 1933: 'Dear Mr. Chancellor, Recently a whole series of cases has been reported to me in which judges, lawyers, and officials of the judiciary who are disabled war veterans and whose record in office is flawless, have been forcibly sent on leave, and are later to be dismissed for the sole reason that they are of Jewish decent. It is quite intolerable for me personally...that Jewish officials who were disabled in the war should suffer such treatment …I am certain, Mr. Chancellor, that you share this human feeling, and request you, most cordially and urgently, to look into this matter yourself, and to see to it that there is some uniform arrangement for all branches of the public service in Germany...' Hitler' Answer Hitler's answer, April 5, 1933: 'Dear Mr. President! …I pointed out to the Reich Minster of the Interior the cases for which you, Mr. Field Marshal, wished to see exceptions made. The law in question received preliminary discussion at several meetings last week and will provide considerations for those Jews who either served in the war themselves, were disabled in the war, have other merits, or never gave occasion for complaint in the course of a long period of service. In general, the primary aim of this cleansing process is only to restore a certain sound and natural balance, and, secondly, to remove from official positions of national significance those elements to which one cannot entrust [the choice between] Germany's survival or destruction...' (Documents on the Holocaust 37-39). Screen A Wave of Anti-Jewish Legislation The Law for the Restoration of the Professional Civil Service was followed by a series of laws and regulations meant to banish Jews from various areas of life in Germany. These effectively undermined the position of physicians, tax advisors, journalists, students, etc. Most of these laws incorporated the same exemptions applied to the Law for Restoration of the Professional Civil Service. But even if some Jews were still protected during the first years, Nazi leaders were encouraged that, as Achim Gercke, specialist for race research at the Ministry of Interior put it, ...the entire national community becomes enlightened about the Jewish question; it learns that the national community is a community of blood; for the first time it understands racial thinking and, instead of an overly theoretical approach to the Jewish question, it is confronted with a concrete solution'. More 1 Legal Restrictions 1933 7 April, Law for the Restoration of the Professional Civil Service. 7 April, Law Excluding Jewish Lawyers from the Bar. 21 April, Law Prohibiting Jewish Ritual Slaughtering. 22 April, Decree barring all 'non-Aryan' doctors from work at state supported health insurance clinics and hospitals. 25 April, Law Against the Overcrowding of German Schools — limiting the matriculation of new Jewish students in German high schools and universities to 1.5% of applicants. The total of Jewish students in any school should not exceed 5%. May 6, Regulation revoking Jewish Tax Accountants' licenses 14 July Denaturalisation Law - cancelling all naturalisations between November 9, 1918 and January 30, 1933, affected mostly Eastern European Jews who had immigrated to Germany. 22 September, Reich Chamber of Culture Law - making any professional activity in literature, the arts, press, theatre and music dependent on membership in a corresponding chamber. This membership was denied to Jews. 4 October, National Press Law - barring Jews from being editors of German newspapers and publications More 2 A Local Perspective In May 1933, the mayor of Frankfurt asked his education department to consider the possibility of expelling Jewish pupils from public schools and gathering them in a special school. The Education and Finance Departments opposed the proposal for economic reasons. They argued that since the Compulsory Education Law applied to Jews just as it did to anyone else, the municipality would have to bear the entire economic burden of building such a school. The Opinion of the City Finance Department From a letter by the Finance Department to the Mayor of Frankfurt, 30 June 1933: …In the existing legal situation of compulsory education, the least expensive solution in the matter of the school for Jewish children is to continue giving municipal financial support to the Jewish community.... The only way to absolve the municipality from [liability for] the education expenses of Jewish children is to amend the law in order to make the Jewish community bear this expense.... We are unable to state whether such a solution is feasible…' (Dokumente zur Geschichte Frankfurter Juden 106) Screen The Undermining of Jewish Professional Life The process of banning the Jews coincided with the Nazification of trade unions and many other aspects of German life—the universities, the judiciary and the bar, the press, and cultural life. The general atmosphere caused growing numbers of Germans to terminate professional relations with Jews, thus causing the Jews' professional activity to diminish even when their jobs were still protected. Button: From the diaries of Viktor Klemperer, Jewish professor in Dresden: '7 April 1933. No one dares write a letter. One dares not speak on the phone. We visit one another and weigh the options. The expert at the ministry said this someone else said something else. This could be of an advantage. But one does not know if the person with the favourable opinion will remaining charge, to what extent he is in charge, etc., etc. On May 2, at the first lecture, it will become clear whether I can keep my position… 10 April 1933. The terrible atmosphere of 'hurra, I'm alive'. The new civil servants' 'law' leaves me as a former soldier of the front in my job. But all around insults and provocations, misery, trembling with fear... 27 April 1933. Yesterday I ended my lecture term as I had opened it: that is I waited in vain for students who had again been prevented from coming. This term I have given my classes to one or two students. The same goes for my seminars... And what about the future? I am waiting like a junior employee to know whether I will be laid off on October 1. But maybe until that time others will be fired… Klemperer was dismissed by the university in 1935'. (Klemperer 1933) Screen 1934 ñ A Pause in Anti-Jewish Measures Having resolved its initial problems by channeling the Antisemitism of its followers into the boycott and exclusionary legislation, in 1934 the Government instituted almost no new legal measures. Hans Frank at the Party rally in 1933: 'The firm decision of the Reich authorities is that there should be a certain pause now in the continued confrontation with the Jews. The Reich authorities further desire to state - in particular as far as the world is concerned - that Jews living in Germany within the framework of German law may carry out their occupations without hindrance...[and that] a certain agreement has now been achieved in the area of dispute with the Jews...that the security and life of the Jews in Germany is in no danger.' (Documents on the Holocaust p. 44) Screen Propaganda Campaign and Social Exclusion The authorities launched an intensive propaganda campaign, using all available media to instil racist Antisemitism as a social and political norm throughout the general population. The authorities hoped to use the Jewish question, portrayed as the root of all Germany's problems, to rally mass support and forge national unity. Even if all Germans did wholeheartedly embrace Nazi Antisemitism, the propaganda campaign reinforced existing anti-Jewish sentiment. The propaganda, coupled with a climate of terror, caused most Germans to shun Jews and break off professional and social relations. Either for fear of punishment and persecution, indifference or latent Antisemitic sentiments, the propaganda campaign legitimated the exclusion of more and more Jews from German social life. One Should Not Grumble, Ulrich Karstedt, German professor of ancient history, Goettingen, January 1934 : One should not grumble...because in a Jewish shop a window pane has been smashed or because the daughter of the cattle dealer Levi was refused admission to a student society.' (Friedlaender 52.) No Great Misfortune, Anti-Nazi German writer Thomas Mann, regarding the Civil Service Law: It is no great misfortune after all that...the Jewish presence in the judiciary has been ended.... I could to some extent go along with the rebellion against the Jewish element.' (Bankier 69.) A Void Had Been Generated Around You, Hanna Arendt, Jewish philosopher: The wave of unification [was] created voluntarily, and in any case not under the duress of terror.... The personal problem was not what our enemies were doing but what our friends were doing.... It was as though a void had been generated around you...' (Reif 21.) Ja, If Only All Of Them Were Like You, From the testimony of Joseph B. Levy, Jewish teacher from Frankfurt/Main: Contact with 'Aryans,' including exchanges of greetings in encounters in the street and public places, diminished steadily. Even former acquaintances and good friends, professional colleagues, and wartime buddies, were deterred from conversing [with us], greeting us furtively and often explaining their behaviour as stemming from fear of persecution or other unpleasantness. Here is one of many examples: An old woman who I almost failed to identify at first glance greeted me in the street from a distance and seemed pleased to see me. She was a work colleague from one of the government schools that I had attended decades back. We approached each other. However, after we exchanged a few words my eyes settled on the party emblem affixed to her dress. Noticing my gaze, she abruptly turned pale and, without saying another word, spun about and walked away. It had suddenly dawned on her that she, a respectable Party member, was standing and talking with a Jew, thereby risking dismissal from the Party. We, of course, were among the few decent Jews. We were given this dubious compliment almost every day in the following words: 'Ja, if only all of them were like you....' (Yad Vashem Archive 0.33/975) More 1 Party Agitation to Isolate Jews The party agitated not only against Jews but against Germans who continued to frequent Jewish establishments or consort with Jews in public. Party Members Must Stop Consorting With Jews. In his directives to all regional party officials (Kreisleiter) on July 7, 1933, the Party chief of propaganda (Gaupropagandaleiter der NSDAP) in the Koblenz Trier district called for a struggle against the Jews: ...The regional administration shall appoint a committee to manage and oversee all localities in the region.... The committee shall establish local committees, the names of whose members shall be known only to the regional committee. The members of the local committees shall forward to the regional committee the names of all Party members and other Germans ¯ especially civil servants - who buy from Jews. … For reason of national interest, Party members must stop consorting even with their best friends if these people continue to buy from Jews. It should be stressed that the goal is that no German will speak with a Jew except where this is unavoidable. For the time being, German girls who continue to consort with Jews should be warned of the danger of their behaviour. In any case, members of our organisation must have no relationship with such a girl.' (Mommsen & Willems 83-90.) Dachau for Women Traitors. A manifesto in the Wuerzburder Generalanzeiger from the Gaubetriebszelle NSDAP, October 5, 1933: Women who buy from Jews, overtly or covertly, should be denounced as lackeys of the Jews.... It would be worth opening a department in Dachau for women traitors, and this will be done.... Germans, remember these women, who have nothing in common with the German people. The day will come—it is not so far off—when these people, too, will have to pay for their actions.' (Juedische Rundschau 6 May 1933) More 2 Jews Withdraw from Asscociations The Jews were forcibly dismissed from jobs, associations, and unions. However, the anti-Jewish climate also induced them to withdraw from non-Jewish German associations of their own free will. A Local Perspective Report by the City of Frankfurt regarding the decline in membership in cultural associations resulting from the withdrawal of Jewish members, February 16, 1934: '1) Because of the Jews' refraining from visits to the theatre, there has been a decline of 550 memberships in the year 1933. Based on 50 Marks per member, the total is a loss of 30,000 Marks for the year. The assessment of the loss in ticket sales for individual shows is around 100,000 Marks. The Association of Friends of the City Theatres', which was 90% Jewish, has dissolved... 2) The Museum Association lost 40% of its income from memberships and ticket sales in the winter of 1933/4. The decline is due primarily to the fact that Jewish circles refrain from visiting the museums. 3) In the year 1933, 270 Jewish and 50 non-Jewish members withdrew from the Frankfurt Association of the Arts...The number of members is at present 600. About 50% of the members resigned in 1933.' (Dokumente zur Geschichte Frankfurter Juden 86-7) Back to the top