-
Take over of power . In March 1933, Adolf Hitler addressed the first session
of the German Parliament (Reichstag) following his
appointment as chancellor. -
From citizens to outcast
A woman reads a boycott sign
posted on the window of a
Jewish-owned department store.
The Nazis initiated a boycott of
Jewish shops and businesses on
April 1, 1933, across Germany. -
Takeover Of Power
After this photograph was taken, all political parties in
the Reichstag—with the exception of the Socialists and
Communists—passed the “Enabling Act” giving Hitler
the power to rule by emergency decree.
Many Germans continued to enter
the Jewish stores despite the
boy-cott, and it was called off after
24 hours. In the subsequent weeks
and months more discriminatory
measures against Jews followed
and remained in effect. -
An instructional chart distinguishes individuals with
pure “German blood” (left column), “Mixed blood”
(second and third columns), and Jews (right two
columns), as defined in the Nuremberg Laws. The laws prohibited marriage and sexual
relation-ships between Jews and non-Jews. -
Members of the Hitler Youth receive instruction in
racial hygiene at a Hitler Youth training facility. The
Nazis divided the world’s population into superior and
inferior “races.”According to their ideology, the “Aryan race,” to which
the German people allegedly belonged, stood at the top
of this racial hierarchy. The Nazi ideal was the Nordic type, displaying blond
hair, blue eyes, and tall stature. -
Residents of Rostock, Germany,
view a burning synagogue the
morning after Kristallnacht
(“Night of Broken Glass”). On
the night of November 9–10,
1938, the Nazi regime unleashed
orchestrated anti-Jewish violence
across greater Germany.
Within 48 hours, synagogues
were vandalized and burned,
7,500 Jewish businesses were
damaged or destroyed, 96 Jews
were killed, and nearly 30,000
Jewish men were arrested and
sent to concentration camps. -
Within the concentration camp system, colored,
tri-angular badges identified various prisoner
categories, as seen in this image of a roll call at the
Buchenwald concentration camp.Although Jews were their primary targets, the Nazis
also persecuted Roma (Gypsies), persons with mental
and physical disabilities, and Poles for racial, ethnic, or
national reasons.Millions more, including homosexuals, Jehovah’s
Wit-nesses, Soviet prisoners of war, -
Jews in Vienna wait in line at a
police station to obtain exit visas.
Following the incorporation of
Austria by Nazi Germany in
March 1938, and the unleashing
of a wave of humiliation, terror,
and confiscation, many Austrian
Jews attempted to leave the
country.Before being allowed to leave,
however, Jews were required to
get an exit visa, plus pay large
sums of money in taxes and
additional fees.