Persecution of Jews during the Third Reich

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. 



Adolf Hitler, the
German Dictator
during the
Third Reich.




Hitler and his Nazi Regime
enforced that the Aryan Race
was the ideal race to be and
believed that Jews were a race
that could be expendable.



 
 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).



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. 



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.

The German Industrial Revolution



German landscape of multiple factories
formed during the Industrial Revolution.



  The industrial revolution in Germany was a major contributor to the nation’s unification.  Before the economic boom, Germany was mostly a rural country with high unemployment rates.  There were several instances in which people could not afford food and had to rely entirely on their own crops in order to eat.This caused Germans to yearn for weather that was ideal for crops during the farming season.  However, the poor state in which Germany suffered during the first part of the century disappeared with the rise of factories and commerce.  The industrial revolution did not just happen; it literally shocked Germany by making such radical changes in such a short period of time.  It changed the entire lifestyle of the average German. 



Germans migrated from the rural part of the country to
urbanized areas during the Industrial Revolution.



     This industrial revolution in Germany began in the year 1848.  The reason for this sudden fluctuation of factories and commerce was due to the creation of railroads across the German terrain.  The abundance of jobs was directly correlated to the vast expansion of the railroad system.  This relationship caused the new factories to produce more goods. Along with the ability to ship goods from one part of the country to another, trains also made it easier for Germans to travel in order to find work at the factories in urban Germany.  This caused an increase in available jobs. 



The creation of the railway system in
Germany was the cause of the start of the
Industrial Revolution.



A sense of unity spread across Germany as a response to these new jobs. Between the years of 1848-1849, the revolution caused many events that allowed industrialism to grow rapidly.  Because of the revolution, there was a peace of mind concerning political issues.  This peace of mind allowed many businesses to start up and eventually expand. 

Along with the expansion of businesses and the recent findings of gold in the United States and in Australia, “the capital supply increased enormously, making credit cheap, while prices rose and demand grew” (Shulze, 130).  Because of the readily available capital, new banks were able to open and stock companies were founded for the first time which caused, “capital investment within the German Customs Union to increase more than three-fold” (Schulze, 130-131). 



The German Industrial Revolution.

Employees were grateful for being able to find regular employment with steady wages.  After living through a pauperism state during the first part of the century, the industrial revolution was a miracle for employees who no longer had to worry how they were going to make money to pay for food.  “Despite all the criticism that has been justly leveled at the deplorable conditions in which this first generation of factory proletarians lived and worked, one should keep in mind that in comparison with poverty of the preindustrial masses the average worker was now better off” (Schulze, 131).   Due to the industrial revolution, there was a major reduction in unemployment and underemployment in Germany. 



It was common for children to find employment
in order to help their families make more money.



This revolution helped the German identity evolve. Before the revolution, Germans lived in the rural part of the country and poverty was the norm.  However, after the industrial revolution, poverty was no longer an issue due to rural Germans moving to urbanized areas. Even those that did not move to urban Germany during this time period were able to survive.  It has been recorded that there were bad harvests in the years of 1855 and 1857 (Shulze, 131-132).  Despite this, there were no hunger revolts that occurred in Germany.

The Germans found themselves in a new era after 1848.  The large economic boom in Germany was very beneficial for the nation.  Factories and businesses were able to hire more employees in the mid-1800s because labor was considered cheap during that period.  Multiple factories started up, which drew potential employers like flies.  Many Germans had occupations with steady wages, and were able to provide for their families without the constant worry of starvation from one day to the next.  Although the working conditions were poor, Germans were grateful to have employment that paid well.  This revolution was one of the first steps of the foundation of the German state. 

A man working during the
German Industrial Revolution.



Response to Reluctant Revolution



Luther's 95 Theses which was
nailed to Wittenburg Church's door.



With being Lutheran, I have grown up with a decent understanding about Martin Luther. I have learned about him through Sunday School, Confirmation, and in a one of my history classes in high school. The Reformation began when Martin Luther nailed the 95 Theses to the Wittenburg Church door on October 31, 1517. During the time of this occurrence, the Church would exile or sentence people to death if they spoke out about how the Church was being operated. Because of his publication of the 95 Theses to the church door, Martin Luther was able to show himself as a religious, political, and religious figure in German history, along with religious history.



Portrait of Martin Luther



With the Reformation, Luther was able to prove that he was a religious figure. He made the public aware that five of the seven sacraments were made up by the Church leaders. There were only two sacraments that were mentioned in the Bible: to be baptized and to take part in the Lord’s Supper.   Luther was able to make logical arguments against the Church and used insults within his writing, something that was not heard of during that time period.

Luther became a cultural leader throughout his life. Because of his cause, commoners realized that they could have a say with the Church. They saw that they could take religious and political action without having to answer to the Holy Roman Empire. For the first time, Germans had the chance to experience freedom of faith and express their individuality. Several branches of Protestant were created after Luther’s Reformation.  Another amazing act that Luther did during his lifetime was translating the Bible from Latin to German. This allowed commoners that were literate to be able to read and experience the Word of God for themselves instead of taking the Church’s word during services.



Martin Luther on trial before Cardinal Cajetanus in Worms



Along with being a religious and cultural leader, Luther also became a political figure. Luther encouraged the Princes of the Holy Roman Empire to stand up to the Church. Because of this encouragement, he was able to save his life from execution by having the princes turn against the Church at Luther’s trial in Worms. Luther also inspired serfs and common people to rise against their rulers. With this movement, it was the start of the end of the feudal system.  Another important aspect that Luther inspired was the start of public schools and public welfare programs. Luther was a significant leader in German history, changing the ways of Germany and religion in the Modern World.

Assignment #2

While reading Hagen Schulze’s book, Germany: A New History, I came across an event in Chapter 2 that caught my interest. The event was Martin Luther’s Reformation. This epoch making movement of Christianity helped shape the religions found in the modern world. I find this event to be interesting because I have grown up with a Lutheran background, and find it intriguing what Luther did in order to fight for his religious beliefs by changing the Catholic Church. He had no intentions of forming his own religion, but wanted to converge his ideas with Catholicism.   



This picture depicts Martin Luther nailing his 95 Theses

 to the Wittenburg Church Door on October 31, 1517.



One part that intrigued me was that Martin Luther was not executed unlike other reformers, such as Jan Hus, that had attempted to break away from the Church in the past. The reason why Martin Luther was not sentenced to death was because many of Luther’s followers were people of high power in Germany, several of those followers being princes. With having the support of princes, Lutheranism began to spread more peacefully. Other supporters that helped spread the peace included city councils that adopted Luther’s ideas and decided to suppress the Catholic Church’s ideas on Christianity. However, switch from Catholicism to Lutheranism was a decision that was not an easy decision. Many Germans had to decide whether or not the wanted to remain in good graces with the Emperor and the Catholic Church, or take a part in the Reformation and take into consideration Luther’s ideas about how religion should be practiced.  The importance of this event is that Luther’s Reformation started the beginning of a new era in Germany in a religious aspect.



This building, The Lutherhaus,  is now a museum devoted to

Reformation history. It used to be an Augustinian Monsastary where 

Luther lived while teaching at Whittenberg University. After the Reformation,

the monastary closed, and the building became Luther's private home.

 It was here where Luther died.



A similar event was seen in the 1600s when English Dissenters separated from the Church of England for religious freedom.  Many of these people left England and traveled to the New World, which is present day United States.  Dissenters arrived at the New World in order to form their own religions and to have the freedom to teach Christianity their own personal way.

Why Did I Choose Germany?

I have always dreamed about traveling abroad to Germany.  I am excited that the opportunity has arisen for me to live out this dream.  This is not my first time traveling outside of the United States. I have traveled to Canada and Mexico, and have been on five cruises to various islands in the Caribbean. However, I am ready for a new experience and the opportunity to embrace a new culture for two and a half weeks. I chose the Germany D-Term trip for many reasons. First, my ancestors are from Germany, so I wanted to go back to the country where my roots are to experience German culture. Second of all, I am a devout Lutheran, and am interested in studying Martin Luther further. I have grown up learning Luther as an important religious figure in the Lutheran religious history, but want to learn and experience more about the man who caused the Reformation from the Catholic Church.  Another reason why I chose Germany is because I took three years of German in high school. I am not fluent in speaking German, but am excited for the opportunity to get to use my knowledge of the language in its native country. I also chose this trip because my parents lived in Germany for three months a few years before I was born. My dad was there for business and my mom went along to experience a different culture. I have grown up hearing about the different places that my parents traveled to in Germany and the different experiences that they encountered while they were there.

I am excited to immerse myself into a different country’s culture. Out of all of my experiences traveling to other countries, I have not gotten the chance to step into another culture and experience the way that the country lives and view its history and current events around the world. I am looking forward to experiencing Germany in a way that I have not been able to before with other foreign countries by learning about its history and get a first-hand experience on German culture.

This D-Term trip to Germany is highly important to me. I have recently been offered an accounting position upon graduation to work at a global agribusiness.  Ironically enough, the company that I will be working for is the same business that my dad worked for when he spent a summer in Germany with my mom. With knowing this background, I hope to someday get to have the same experience of living in Germany.

Guten Tag!

My name is Dani and am an Accounting major. I am looking forward to studying abroad in Germany over D-Term. I took three years of German in high school and have always dreamed about visiting Germany. I am excited to experience a different culture and learn more about Germany's history and my heritage. I am looking forward to blogging about my experience in Germany!