Figure 1.--Here Hitler youth boys paste public notices on businesses. Notice the brush and bucket. The notices identify the owners as Jewish--'Jüdisches Geschäft' (Jewish business). Notice the older youth at the right taking notes. We are not sure what he us witing down. We are not sure just when the NAZIs compiled a list of Jewish business and residences, but lisdts had clearly been cimpiled. This could nit hsve been the begining of this effort. The shop name has been damaged--motice the Hitler pasted on the door and at the end of the shop name. The name looks like Siegel--a recognizable Jewish name.

President Hindenburg named NAZI leader Adolf Hitler Chancellor of Germany (January 1933). Hitler almost immediately launched what was to become a comprehensive campaign to isolate and exclude Jews from German national life. The first major steps two months after seizing power. The NAZIs launched the national campaign against the country's Jews with a boycott of Jewish shops, businesses, and professionals (April 1, 1933). [Berenbaum, p. 21.] The boycott was the opening move in the NAZi assault on German Jews. It was also reprisal against Gruelpropaganda (atrocity stories) accounts by foreign jourrnalists darkening Germany's national image. This was aypical NAZI tactic, to blame Jews for the actiins taken. Sturmabteilung (SA Storm Trooperspositiined themselves in front of Jewish-owned department stores, small retail shops, and the offices of doctors, lawyers, and other profesiijals. Older Hitler Youth boys also participated. They painted Stars of David in yellow and black on shop windoiws and doors. Anti-semitic slogans also appeared. "Don't Buy from Jews" and "The Jews Are Our Misfortune." In addition Jews were attacked on the street and Jewish property damaged. The police now with NAZI bosses rarely intervened . The violence was not on the scake of Kristalnacht, but it made clear tht Jews no longer had the protection of German law. The boycott only lased one day, but it was just the beginning of a campaign to deny Jews the ability to make a living and steal their property. Hitler day later decreed a new Civil Service Law: Gesetz zur Wiederherstellung des Berufsbeamtentums (The Law for the Restoration of the Professional Civil Service) (April 7). The law was drafted by the new Interior Minister Wilhelm Frick. As the law was originally drafted, all 'non-Aryans were to be immideately dismissed from the Reich (national), Länder and municipal governments. President Paul von Hindenburg objected to the draft ans insisted it be amended to exclude three classes of civil servants from dusmissal: 1) World War I veterans who had served at the front, 2) individuals who had been employed continuously since 1 August 1914 (the beginning of World War I), and 3) those who lost a father or son in combat during World War I. A as result, some Jews continued working for a brief period. There were, however, extra-legal ways of removing Jews. At many universities, NAZI students attacked Jewish professors and students. Some were killed, being thrown out windows and down stairs. The Law was the legal basis for dismissing Jews and anti-NAZIs from the the civil service, including not only employees of givernmentagencies, but judges, school teachers, and university professors (April 7, 1933). The Law was not so much aimed at 'professional' civil service. Germany had one of the most professional sivil service in the world. What the law did was to fashion a more nationalist civil service. The Law allowed newly appointed NAZI administrators to dusmiss tenured civil servants. Thise targetted were civil servants not of 'Aryan descent (especially Jew noy only Jew and anti-NAZIs. A comparable law soon followed governing other professions, including lawyers, doctors, tax consultants, musicians, and notaries. The NAZIs in the following 6 years before launching World War II introduced over 400 different laws to percecute Jewish Germans. The laws were carefully crafted to isolate, excluded, degrade, rob, and disinfranchise German Jews.

Boycotts (April 1)

President Hindenburg named NAZI leader Adolf Hitler Chancellor of Germany (January 1933). Hitler almost immediately launched what was to become a comprehensive campaign to isolate and exclude Jews from German national life. The first major steps two months after seizing power. The NAZIs launched the national campaign against the country's Jews with a boycott of Jewish shops, businesses, and professionals (April 1, 1933). [Berenbaum, p. 21.] The boycott was the opening move in the NAZi assault on German Jews. It was also a reprisal against Gruelpropaganda (atrocity stories) accounts by foreign jourrnalists darkening Germany's national image. This was a typical NAZI tactic, to blame Jews and justify and expand the actions taken. Sturmabteilung (SA Storm Troopers) positiined themselves in front of Jewish-owned department stores, small retail shops, and the offices of doctors, lawyers, and other profesionalss. Older Hitler Youth boys also participated. THis was all well organized. The SA and Hitler Youth boys were divuded into groups and asssigned locations to cover as many Jewish-owned shops and professionals as possible. They painted Stars of David and 'Jude" on shop windoiws and doors. They were given printed posters to post on windows, walls nd doors with anti-semitic slogans such as "Don't Buy from Jews" and "The Jews Are Our Misfortune." In addition Jews were attacked on the street and Jewish property damaged. The police now with NAZI bosses rarely if ever intervened. The Jews shop owners did not dare interfere or tear down the posters. It would mean a potentially fatal beating and trashing of the shop and knowing that the police would not intertfere. Jews were learning that in the new Germany, they did not want to draw attention to themselves and their family. The violence was not on the scale of Kristalnacht. Residstsance was futile and would just lead to even eorse consequenmces. The SA things were just learning how far they could go. German Jews were becomong increasingly aware that they no longer had the protection of German law. The initial boycott action only lasted one day, but it was just the beginning of a campaign to deny Jews the ability to make a living and steal their property.

New Civil Service Law (April 7)

Hitler dayy later decreed a new Civil Service Law: Gesetz zur Wiederherstellung des Berufsbeamtentums (The Law for the Restoration of the Professional Civil Service) (April 7). The law was drafted by the new Interior Minister Wilhelm Frick. As the law was originally drafted, all 'non-Aryans were to be immideately dismissed from the Reich (national), Länder and municipal govern,ents. President Paul von Hindenburg objected to the draft ans insisted it be amended to exclude three classes of civil servants from dusmissal: 1) World War I veterans who had served at the front, 2) individuals who had been employed continuously since 1 August 1914 (the beginning of World War I), and 3) those who lost a father or son in combat during World War I. A as result, some Jews continued working for a brief period. There were, however, extra-legal ways of removing Jews. At many universities, NAZI students attacked Jewish professors and students. Some were killed, being thrown out windows and diwn stairs. The Law was the legal basis for dismissing Jews and anti-NAZIs from the the civil service, including not only emoloyees of government agencies, but judges, school teachers, and university professors (April 7, 1933). The Law was not so much aimed at 'professional' civil service. Germany had one of the most professional sivil service in the world. What the law did was to fashion a more nationalist civil service. The Law allowed newly appointed NAZI administrators to dismiss tenured civil servants. Those targetted were civil servants not of 'Aryan descent (especially Jews, but only Jews). Anti-NAZI civil servants were akso dismissed. A comparable law soon followed governing other professions, including lawyers, doctors, tax consultants, musicians, and notaries. The Berufsbeamtengesetz was a citical turning point in the Holocaust. It was the first time since the German Jews were emancipated (1871) that an anti-Semitic law had been passed in Germany. Discrimination conyinued, but that was a cultural matter, nit Governmental, institiutional actions. In one particularly notable example of the law's effect, Albert Einstein resigned his position at the Prussian Academy of Sciences and emigrated to the United States before he could be fired. As the eminent pusicist Max Plank explained to Hitler, he was disarming Germany in phhsics. Hitler wnt into one of his furious tirades, but within a few months of becoming Chancelloe, Hitler was throwing away Geramnys only real chance of winning another World War--an atomic bomb.

Subsequent Actions

Hitler in the 6 years before launching World War II introduced over 400 different laws to percecute Jewish Germans. The laws were carefully crafted to isolate, excluded, degrade, rob, and disinfranchise German Jews. Most of the major regulations came in in place fairly early (1933-35). The first step was the Berufsbeamtentums (April 1933). President Hindenberg had insisted on some exceptions for Jewish World War I veterans. Hitler had accepted these exceptions because he did not dare openly challenge the president and famed war leader. When Hindenberg died, however, these exceptions were cancelled (August 1934). The major step of course was the Nuremberg Dercrees (Septembrer 1935). A lot of the actions against Jews in the early years were exre-jurdicial. The Nuremberg lases changed this. Now most of what the NAZIs wanterd to do short of murder, could be done legally. The regulations did not stop at this, but continued throughout NAZI rules, culminating with the Wansee Conference to implement mass murder (January 1941). Mass murder began earlier with Barbarossa and the Eisatzgruppen in the Sovuet Union (June 1941). This did not, however, affect Geramn Jews who for the most part did not understand what was happening in the East. NAZI officials in preparation for vwhat was to comee, issued decrees requiring German Jews to wear wear Yellow Star Jude badges (September 1941). (These badges were implemernted in Poland at the very beginning of NAZI occupation. (September 1939). This was because the Geramns were having such trouble identifying Jews--despite the propaganda material always presenting stereotypical images. And then the beginning of the deportation of Reich Jews to the ghettos and death camps mostly located in occupied Poland (1942). As a result of the Wansee Conference the murder of not only Jews in occupied areas began, but the murder of Geramn Jews as the Death Camps came on line.

Sources

Berenbaum, Michael. The World Must Know (Ed. Arnold Kramer. Boston: Little, Brown, & Company, 1993).

Created: 11:59 PM 2/2/2015
Last updated: 1:28 PM 1/22/2022