Anti-Semitic Policies From 1933 to 1939

The anti-semitic policies of interwar Germany culminated in the Holocaust

In the years between Hitler's rise to power in 1933 and his invasion of Poland in 1939, marking the beginning of World War II, the Nazi Party pursued an aggressively anti-Semitic policy directed at the Jews of Germany.

Civil Service and Education Restrictions

Within months of taking power, Hitler passed the "Law for the Restoration of Professional Civil Service," which removed Jews from all civil service positions. Jews were driven out of public education, both students and teachers, and numerous restrictions were placed on the activity of Jewish professionals such as lawyers and doctors.

Aryanization Policy

Hitler also pursued a policy known as "aryanization," which meant that Jewish-owned businesses were required to relinquish control of their enterprises to non-Jews ("aryans"). Jews who wished to leave Germany were required to leave substantial portions of their wealth behind.

Kristallnacht and Collective Punishment

On November 9, 1938, Hitler unleashed a nationwide attack on the Jews of Germany, in retaliation for the assassination of a German consular official in Paris by a Jewish attacker. Known as "kristallnacht," or the "Night of Broken Glass" for the extensive property damage, Jews were also held responsible for repaying the damages caused to non-Jewish businesses during the Nazi rampage.

References

• United States Holocaust Memorial Museum: Anti-Jewish Legislation in Prewar Germany
• University of Minnesota: Center for Holocaust & Genocide Studies
• USC Shoah Foundation Institute: Remembering Kristallnacht

Resources

• The Holocaust Chronicle