Transcript German History 1871-1933

GERMAN HISTORY 1871-1945
Anti-semitism
 Anti-semitism (and any kind of ethnic/religious hate) always
runs below the surface like a water main.
 In times of crisis, the taps are turned on and the hate
manifests in a variety of ways.
 Most often, we simply ‘turn off the tap’ rather than ‘shutting
down the water main.’
 Look at the timeline of anti-semitism and
 Categorise the incidents by type;
 Categorise the incidents by location.
Pre – World War 1
 1871 – Germany becomes a nation
 -The 1800’s were a time for strong nationalist feelings
throughout Europe with the formation of a German state, the
people of Germany became intensely nationalistic
There was an overwhelming sentiment that Germany (and the
people of Germany) was the best at everything.
With the beginning of World War I in 1914 there was the belief
by the German people that Germany would easily win
because they were the best. Throughout the war the truth
was kept from the people for ‘morale’ reasons, and they were
lead to believe that they were in fact, winning the war.
WHAT HAPPENED
WHEN GERMANY
LOST WORLD
WAR I ?
A) DISBELIEF
A sense of “how could this possibly happen?”
was felt by most Germans.
B) ANGER & BITTERNESS
 i) At the leaders of Germany when they surrendered to the
Allies
 Ii) At the terms of the peace treaty (Treaty of Versailles)
because the treaty held Germany responsible for the whole war,
and financially accountable for the damages that occurred
during the war.
C) DISGRUNTLED SOLDIERS
 Many soldiers, feeling that the leadership of the country had let
them down, turned to politics & joined political groups to bring
about change.
 A young soldier named Adolph Hitler was one of these young
soldiers who joined and eventually lead a group called the
National Socialists (Nazi)
D) SEVERE DEPRESSION
 As a result of the peace treaty:
 Prime farmland (Alsace & Lorraine) were taken away from Germany resulting in a
loss of revenue & food
 Enormous war debt to pay
 Government overprinted money in attempts to get people to spend, instead it
resulted in incredible inflation & the German currency became useless
 General population went broke
E) SCAPEGOATING
 Germans started looking for, & demanding answers from their leaders
 Many of new political parties tried to cater to the public’s demands for
answers by supplying them with ‘scapegoats’.
 A scapegoat is a person or group that we place blame upon
 Usually scapegoats are from the ‘they’ group, outsiders, foreigners,
immigrants. Germans wanted scapegoats for the terrible difficulties they
were enduring.
FACT: when economic times get tough,
instances of racism & hate crimes increase.
NAZI’S ATTACK JEWS: 1933
Boycott of Jewish businesses
Forced retirement of Jewish judges
Public burning of books written by Jew authors
All Jewish businesses had to carry signs on
them showing they belonged to Jews
NAZI’S ATTACK JEWS: 1935
 Nuremberg Laws:
 Legal definition of Jew as anyone who has even one Jewish
grandparent
 Jews are declared non-citizens
 The forbidding of marriage or relations between Jews &
Germans
NAZI’S ATTACK JEWS: 1938
 Government back the destruction of Jewish property & assaults upon Jews.
This was called Kristallnacht or Night of the shattered glass. Nov. 8, 1938
 Census forces all Jews to state they are Jews – they are designated with the
names Sarah or Judah
 Major synagogues destroyed all over Germany
 Jews are forced to sell their businesses & deposit their money into German
banks. They are not allowed to withdraw it.
 Jews are forced to wear the Yellow Star of David
 Jewish children no longer allowed in school
NAZI’S ATTACK JEWS: 1939
 Jews are forced to live in ghettos
NAZI’S ATTACK JEWS: 1941
 “FINAL SOLUTION OF THE JEWISH QUESTION”
 All borders are closed to Jews & mass executions begin
 Deportation of Jews in ghettos to concentration camps to be exterminated
CAUSES OF THE HOLOCAUST
 Pre-Existing Prejudice
 Anti-Semitism
 Economic Competition
 “We don’t like it when minorities are winning at this”
 Scapegoating
 Blaming a group for the economic hardships of a nation
 Technology and Ethics
 Ability to do something is not the same as a reason to do it.
 Propaganda
ANTI-JEWISH PROPAGANDA IN
NAZI GERMANY
QUESTIONS TO DISCUSS:
 What is the difference between obedience & blind obedience?
 What encourages obedience? Is it fear of those in power? A
desire to please authority? A belief in authority? Peer
pressure? A need to conform? Other reasons?
 Why is it difficult to harm someone whom we are in contact with
personally? Why is it somewhat easier to inflict pain (mental or
physical) upon a person we only at a distance.