How the Nazi's did it:The Nuremberg Laws

How the Nazi's did it:The Nuremberg Laws On September 15, 1935 the first piece of anti-Semitic legislation was passed in two parts: the Law for the Protection of German Blood and Honor and the Reich Citizenship Law. These laws divided races based upon a person’s lineage as well as outlawing many lifestyle activities for those considered Jewish. Until this point, Jews as well as those of mixed race were called non-Aryans. The Nuremberg Laws redefined these people as either Jewish or Mischlinge, mixed race. These laws made it much easier for people to feel ok about anti-Semitic beliefs and accept actions taken against Jews. I chose this document because I believe it demonstrates how anti-Semitism and hatred dominated German society and government. Jews were clearly disregarded in society and these laws further emphasize how such hatred was justified. The Nuremberg Laws were the legal aspects of Hitler’s quest for Aryan racial purity. These laws dehumanized and segregated the Jews which allowed for the societal hatred of Jews that led to the Holocaust.

In the Reich Citizenship Law, being a Jew is redefined. Any person with “at least three grandparents who were racially full Jews” may not be a citizen. By this definition of a citizen, Jews are stripped of their right to vote and hold public office. These rights are at the core of a person’s freedom. In addition, basing religious beliefs off of lineage is clearly inaccurate in the first place as well as being an invasion of privacy. Family and religion are generally regarded as private matters but Jews were regarded as unworthy of such rights. Children were also classified as Jews if they were “the issue of a marriage with a Jew” or “of an extra-marital relationship with a Jew”. Being a Jew became a very different thing than it had always been. Before this time, Jews were simply those who believed in the Jewish faith. With the induction of the Nuremberg Laws, being Jewish became a racial quality rather than a spiritual belief. In a country where Jews were less than 1% of the population, the religious distance between Jews and the rest of society was dramatically increased by the addition of a racial factor. The idea that “a Jew cannot be a citizen of the Reich” illustrates the fact that government and law operated fully based upon race and inequality.

The Law for the Protection of German Blood and Honor goes even further and removes the basic, inalienable rights of the Jewish people. The first article of this law includes the statement that “Any marriages between Jews and citizens of German or kindred blood are herewith forbidden.” This is a complete removal of the general human right to marry. The idea of purifying race is clear in the idea that relationships between Jews and Germans were outlawed. Purifying race implies that it is impure to begin with and the blame of this on the Jews in a legal manner pushed the Jews further and further from accepted society. Right below this is the statement that “extra-marital relations” between these same groups are also prohibited. Next, the law prohibits the Jews from hiring “female subjects of German or kindred blood who are under the age of 45.” This law promotes the misconception that Jews are all criminals and rapists. The idea that Jews are such demonic and dirty people verifies for the German people that the propaganda is truthful. Lastly, these laws outlaw Jewish display of the Reich and the national flag. This makes Jews seem not only like non-citizens but like aliens who are illegally in Germany. Not only does this add to the image of Jews as criminals but it is the final separator between Jews and Germans. If one cannot wear the colors of one’s country, one is no longer a part of that country and is no longer subject to the rights of that country’s citizenship. Though this law may seem like the least consequential of all, the ability to feel comfortable and safe in Germany was impossible for Jews after this point.

Finally, the Law for the Protection of German Blood and Honor outlines the consequences for any “man who acts contrary” to the laws. Anyone who did not obey the law that disallowed marriages between Jews and Germans was “liable to penal servitude.” This statement essentially legalizes the labor done in the camps for the group of people who refused to follow this rule. Though it did not explicitly mention anything about the work camps of state these camps as punishment for the other crimes, it is impossible to deny that laws were made that implied hard labor for Jews. Although the scale of the camps were impossible to imagine, it is clear that the people could not deny knowing of some severe punishments for Jews, even if they did not explicitly witness them. The implementation of these punishments and others were all overseen by the “Reich Minister of Interior in conjunction with the Deputy to the Fuehrer and the Reich Minister of Justice.” These men in high up positions were all clearly anti-Semitic. All hope for any safe place for Jews in Germany was gone after these laws.

In conclusion, the differentiation of Jews from Germans directly resulted in the justification of the Holocaust. The Nuremberg Laws not only marked the start of the Holocaust in a legal form but initiated the formal hatred for Jews by the government. I questioned initially how a government could get away with sending thousands of human beings to die or to work in labor camps. Clearly, they made legal excuses for themselves and removed the human aspect. The Reich did not classify Jews as human beings, much less citizens, which took away much of the guilt about doing such cruel things to other people. By taking away basic rights of humans, the government removed the Jews from being thought of as humans. Because these laws, and the propaganda that enforced such beliefs, were so widespread, the Holocaust was almost inevitable. Though it was not necessarily going to be the killing of Jews throughout Europe, the Holocaust’s main cause, anti-Semitism was now legally encouraged, making all hope for Jews in Germany futile.

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