The oppression of Jews in Germany began when Hitler came to power with the NSDAP in 1933. Anti-Jewish laws made life impossible for them in Germany and many fled the country in desperation.

Exclusion

After coming to power on 30 January 1933, the Nazis started reshaping society in line with their ideals. They saturated not only politics but also the cultural and social life in cities and villages with Nazi ideology. This process is called Gleichschaltung, and it included the exclusion of ‘enemies’. German Jews were the most actively targeted group. Discriminatory laws allowed the Nazis to progressively restrict their rights. There were more than half a million Jews in Germany at this time - about 0.75 per cent of the population.

On 7 April 1933 the regime passed the ‘Civil Service Restoration Act’, allowing the Nazis to create a loyal public administration. Political opponents and Jews were fired or forced to retire. University professors, who were classed as public servants in Germany, were included. The Nazis also purged the judiciary. Some Jewish lawyers were denied access to the courts. In a year, thousands of people lost their jobs. Yet a large percentage could continue their work more or less as usual, because First World War veterans were exempt.

Other professions also faced discrimination. Jewish doctors and dentists were excluded from the national health insurance system, which meant they lost a large proportion of their patients. Jewish actors and writers were not permitted to join the professional bodies set up by the Nazis. The Nazis also restricted access to education. Only 1.5 per cent of new pupils were allowed to be Jewish. Many students had to change courses or schools. Others could not graduate because of the restrictions. Associations and sports clubs often refused to accept Jewish members, so Jews started setting up their own clubs. But this reinforced segregation, and Germans and Jews were driven further and further apart.

Race laws

Despite the anti-Jewish laws, there was in fact no clear definition of ‘Jewish’ in the early stages of the Third Reich. In September 1935 this changed. At the annual party rally in the German city of Nuremberg the Nazis unveiled the so-called Nuremberg race laws, which defined who was a Jew and who was not. Anyone with four ‘Aryan’ grandparents was a German. Anyone with three or more Jewish grandparents was a Jew. People with or two Jewish grandparents were classed as Mischling or of mixed blood. The Nuremberg race laws turned Jews into second-class citizens. They had fewer rights because they were no longer Germans, according to the Nazis. Marriages and sexual relationships between Jews and ‘Aryans’ were now forbidden. It became vital for many Germans to be able to demonstrate their racial purity. A special document was created: the Ahnenpass or certificate of ancestry.

Some German Jews still hoped that things would get better. They hoped for legislation against the arbitrary treatment and harassment. They thought perhaps they could rebuild life as a minority group. Meanwhile, the Nazi regime did not launch any major anti-Jewish regulations during 1936, to avoid negative attention during the Olympic Games and the occupation of the Rhineland. But the Jews’ hope was vain. The boycotts, exclusions and violent harassment continued.

From 1937 on, pressure on Jess increased to leave the country. One of the measures was the ‘aryanisation’ of Jewish possessions. This involved basically forced sales, often for prices that were far too low. Jews lost their possessions and even had to pay an emigration tax, so there was no money left to maintain them in the countries to which they wanted to flee. These countries therefore refused to take many refugees. Many Jews also did not want to leave because they still felt German, they did not want to give up their way of life and they were frightened of the unknown. Even so, between 1933 and the end of 1937, some 130,000 Jews leave Germany.

In 1938 the Nazi regime continued unchecked with its anti-Jewish moves. There was almost no opposition, because the important government roles were in the hands of loyal Nazis. Jews with non-recognisably ‘Jewish’ first names were forced to adopt the additional name of Israel or Sara. Their passports were also stamped with a ‘J’ to emphasise their Jewishness. More and more Jews lost their jobs or their businesses.

After the Anschluss in March 1938, when Austria was incorporated into Germany, the 200,000 Austrian Jews also suffered from discrimination. In May 1938, the Nazis arrested 2,000 Jews in Vienna for transportation to Dachau. Jews were still being arrested in Germany too. In a crackdown on so-called ‘asocial elements’ more than 1,000 Jews were rounded up by the Nazis in Berlin. The regime resorted to deportation. East European Jews without German citizenship were put out of the country. In October 1938 the Nazis deported 18,000 Polish Jews in two days.

Pogrom

On 7 November 1938 a young Polish Jew shot dead a German diplomat in Paris in revenge for the deportation of his parents. It was a prime opportunity for the Nazis to launch large scale anti-Jewish action. The shooting was an excuse rather than the cause, because the plans had already been drawn up. In the night of 9 to 10 November, synagogues across Germany were set ablaze. The Nazi smashed up Jewish-owned shops. This night is known as Kristallnacht (Night of Borken Glass), because of the broken glass in the streets.

The misnomer Kristallnacht conceals the level of violence the Nazis used. Dozens of Jews are killed. That is why today the designation November pogrom is preferred. At least 25,000 were rounded up and sent to concentration camps, where the guards humiliated and abused them. Hundreds more died because of the conditions in the camps. Jews were now the majority group of prisoners. However, many were released quite quickly if they promised to leave the country. As a final humiliation, the Nazis declared the Jewish community responsible for the damage. They demanded a ‘compensation payment’ of one billion Reichsmark.