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Enabling Act
In order for the Nazi regime to ensue, the Nazi Party had to be elected by the German citizens as the dominate political party of Germany. To do this, the Nazis initiated the Enabling Act-- ending democracy in Germany and indirectly selecting Adolf Hitler as the ruler. The Nazis set fire to the Reichstag builiding to spread fear throughout Germany and then set the blame upon the communists. This persuaded the Germans to vote for the Enabling Act; and the Nazi plan was succesful. -
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Anti-Jewish Laws of Pre-World War II Nazi Germany
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Jewish Boycott
The Nazi Party planned for a day on which all people would boycott Jewish businesses. The posters spread throughout the town read things such as: "Germans! Defend yourselves! Don't buy from Jews!" Storm Troopers warded off the Jewish shops, being symbolized as Jewish by the Star of David or the word "Jude" that the Nazis had painted on the windows. This national boycott lasted for a day, but a week later Germany had a law forbidding Jews from their jobs. -
Aryan Law
Proceeding the boycott of Jewish business, the Law for the Resotration of Professional Civil Service (the Aryan Law) was passed. This prevented both Jews and the anti-Nazis from withholding their current profession and finding more in the future; with no exceptions. To maintain a job, one must have presented their background to the government to check for Aryan "purity". -
Berlin Book Burning
"Where they burn books, they will also ultimately burn people." The play "Almansor," which holds this line in German, has been burned as part of the "Action against the Un-German Spirit" book burnings. The majority of these events occured on the tenth of May, 1933 as planned; however, some were postponed because of issues like rain. Berlin gathered a party of around forty-thousand people for their book burning, where they celebrated their German blood. -
The Nuremberg Laws
Those identified as Jews by the Nazi Party (even if the subject does not identify as a Jew, a number of close Jewish ancestory would have them labeled as a Jew) were stripped of their German citizenship and forbidded from racial infamy-- meaning Jews could not practice sexual or maritial relationships with non-Jews. -
Law #174 -- Jewish Name Changes
Jews were required of official symbolization. They were forced into baring symbols such as the Star of David or a red letter "J", but those unrecognizable were forced to go through a name change. Females added "Sara" to their middle names while males used "Israel". -
The Night of Broken Glass
The event earned its name due to the shatters of glass coating the German streets as the Jewish store windows came down. Over the course of two days: dozens of Jews were killed; Jewish cemeteries, hospitals, and homes were looted; two-hundred-fifty synagogues were bruned; and over seven-thousand Jewish businesses were dirtied. This has been speculated to be the result of the Germans' anger over a teenager's assassination of a German official in Paris. -
Jewish Star Requirement
Reinhard Heydrich proposed for Jews to carry a form of identification (November 1938). This became exercised one year later in Poland, where Jews were required to wear the Star of David as a badge (centuries past used this method). "...The authorities have warned that severe punishment—up to, and including death by shooting—is in store for Jews who do not wear the yellow badge on back and front." -- Judenrat of Bialystok. At six and above, it was an order to wear the star in public at all times.
