Children in Hitler's Germany were brought up with anti-Semitic teachings. Above: Children learning anti-Jewish slogans.
The Nazis systematically repressed those sections of society they regarded as enemies. At the top of their list came the Jews, whom Nazi ideology described as "the source of all evils in the world."
Even before they came to power, the Nazis' street gangs, known as the SA storm-troopers, had already staged attacks on Jewish homes and businesses. Once the Nazis came to power, the SA lost all restraint. An elderly Jew walking on the street or a little Jewish child going to school could easily be assaulted by the SA and other Nazi gangs. That same year, the Nazis initiated a boycott aimed at Jewish shops and businesses. All over Germany went up posters portraying Jews as terrible and ugly monsters, and carrying slogans reading, "Don't buy Jewish goods." In September that same year, a law was passed prohibiting Jews from owning land. In November, Jews were banned from being newspaper editors.
Further laws were passed in 1934, excluding Jews from trade unions and health insurance, and banning them from working as lawyers or judges. In 1935, all Jews were expelled from the army.
Under the Nürnberg Laws of 1935, Jews were no longer able to work in many areas of German society. Jews were prohibited from marrying Germans. In 1937, Jews were no longer permitted to be teachers, doctors or dentists, on the pretext that "They will physically or spiritually poison the German people." In November that year, the anti-Semitic film The Eternal Jew began to be shown in cinemas all over Germany.
In schools, teachers warned their students of the so-called "Jewish menace." During lessons, Jews were insulted and maligned. The quotation below is a thought-provoking reflection of how Germany's society was brainwashed:
Mr. Birgmann's 7th form is very lively today. The teacher is talking about the Jews. Mr. Birgmann has drawn a number of shapes on the board, and everyone finds these unbelievably fascinating. Mr. Birgmann looks at his watch? "It is mid-day, children. We must now sum up what we have learnt. What were we last speaking about?"
Everyone puts their hand up, and Mr. Birgmann nods to Karl Scholtz, who is sitting in the front row.
"We were learning how to recognise Jews."
"Excellent! Can you tell us a bit more?"
Little Karl rises to his feet and points to the shapes on the blackboard: "It is easy to recognise Jews by their noses. Their noses look like a number '6,' and are called a 'Jewish six.' Some people who are not Jews have big noses, but theirs point upwards, not down. Such noses are called 'hooked' or 'eagle.' They are nothing like Jewish noses."
"Well done!" says the teacher. "Richard, come up and tell us more about how to recognise Jews."
The blond, cheerful Richard approaches the blackboard. "You can tell a Jew by his movements and behaviour. Jews always nod their heads forward. They also have a funny way of walking. They waddle. They move their hands when they talk. They have odd voices, as if they are talking through their noses. They have a nasty, sweet smell. You can always tell a Jew if you have a good sense of smell."
The teacher was quite satisfied.
"There you are, children. Watch out! If you remember all that when you leave school, the Jews will never be able to take you in!"
He turns the blackboard round, and one of the students reads out the poem written on it:
From the face of a Jew.
Let us be free of the Jews,
Who are a plague in every land.
Let us be happy and joyful again.
All young people must fight.
These devils are deceitful!107
Enmity of Jews increased rapidly in a society educated along such lines. Every Nazi act of repression against the Jews met with society's approval. 1938 saw all Jewish-owned goods, property and money being registered, and new sanctions being imposed.
The Fasanenstrasse Synagogue, one of the hundreds of synagogues demolished during Kristallnacht, when Jewish homes and shops were looted.
A new chapter in the oppression of the Jews opened on the night of November 9-10, 1938. The incidents were sparked off on November 7, when a 17-year-old Jewish Pole, Herschel Grynszpan, whose family the Nazis had mistreated, shot an official at the German Embassy in Paris. The Nazis used the incident as an act of provocation, and staged attacks on Jewish places of worship, houses and businesses all over Germany.
In one single night, 1,350 synagogues were destroyed. More than 90 Jews were killed, and some 30,000 were sent to concentration camps. 7,000 Jewish businesses were looted, and thousands of homes damaged. That night was called "Kristallnacht" (Night of Broken Glass) because of all the windows smashed in the looted buildings. The German government then managed to hold the Jews responsible for all that had gone on, and raised the amazing sum of 1 billion marks from Jews to pay for all the glass that had been broken.
In the wake of Kristallnacht, the oppression increased. When Germany united with Austria in 1938, some 200,000 Austrian Jews continued living in fear along with the 55,000 or so living in Germany. Yet the real savagery started with the outbreak of the war.
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