One issue that was compelling from the book was in Chapter 11 of Schulze’s Germany: A New History. This issue was about the persecution of Jews during the Third Reich. This topic had a major impact on how Germans viewed themselves along with how they viewed others.
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| Adolf Hitler, the German Dictator during the Third Reich.
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The new ruler of Germany during the Third Reich, Adolf Hitler, believed that the Aryan race, which
consisted of people that had blond hair and blue eyes, was the ideal race in the world. Aryans were viewed as “the bringer of light and redemption, a group of people who merely by belonging to a particular ‘race’ embodied everything evil, bad, and deviant” (Schulze, 254). Hitler believed that Jewish people were dirty and a disgrace to human beings on Earth. Hitler also believed that Jews were dangerous to German citizens and the country, along with humanity. After gaining power in 1933, Hitler started to promote the radical idea that Jews were people that Germans should not associate themselves with. Hitler and his administration were able to brainwash Germans that were of the ideal race that Jewish people were horrible people and could not be trusted. From his influential power of speech, Hitler succeeded at turning the German citizens against the Jews. The Germans of the Aryan race believed that they were the ideal race. These people eventually viewed Jews as the “below” race and, also, believed that Jews should not have the same rights that were granted to the Aryan race.
The persecution of the Jews was not a premeditated plan (Schulze, 254). Instead, it was one of the, “regime’s ultimate ideological aims” (Schulze, 254). The Jewish persecution began as a campaign which was formed in order to have German citizens believe that Jews were a race that was expendable. Terror and propaganda were used in order to scare Germans away from Jewish markets (Schulze, 254). As the Third Reich continued throughout the 1930s, the German government imposed multiple new laws regarding what Jewish people could and could not do. Some of these laws included the Law for Restoration of the Professional Civil Service which gave the German government the right to dismiss Jewish officials that worked for the government; the Defense Law of May 21, 1935 which excluded Jewish people from enlisting for any German military service; and Nuremberg Laws, put into effect on September 15, 1935, which deprived Jews of full German citizenship and prohibited Jews from being able to marry people that were not of Jewish decent (Schulze, 255). Starting in March of 1938, Hitler began a process called “Aryanisation.” Aryanisation meant Hitler authorized semi-legal measures to confiscate the businesses and assets of German and Austrian Jews (Cesarani).
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| The German government enforced that Jewish people must wear the Star of David on all of their clothing in order to identify them as a Jew. |
Eventually, the German government forced Jews to wear the Star of David on their clothing in order to identify that they were Jewish. Hitler’s regime also forced Polish Jews into ghettos after the invasion of the Nazis in Poland (Schulze, 273). Ultimately, Nazi Germany began to persecute Jews during the Holocaust, which took place between the years 1941 - 1945. During this persecution, the Nazis rounded up Jews and sent them to either concentration work camps or to execution camps. Hitler used the execution of the Jews in order to benefit Germany’s economy. He did so by taking the possessions, such as gold fillings and jewelry of the Jews and using the possessions to increase Germany’s economy.
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| The swastika was the symbol of Nazi Germany during the Third Reich. This symbol is now considered to be one of the most racist symbols in the world. |
Hitler managed to influence Germans that Jewish people were dangerous to Germany and the world. He managed to persuade non-Jewish German citizens to believe that Jews were people to not associate with and to avoid. Later during his dictatorship, Hitler began to persecute Jews, and many German citizens supported his actions. The persecution of Jews was a compelling topic in Schulze’s book.
Works Cited:
Cesarani, David. From Persecution to Genocide. BBC History, 02-17-2011. http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/worldwars/genocide/radicalisation_01.shtml
Schulze, Hagen. Germany: A New History. Harvard University Press, 1998.
