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Enabling Act (3/23/1933)
The act supplied the legal backing for dictator-
ship. Hitler and the Nazis never worried about laws and the rights of
citizens again. It immediately became possible to arrest opponents of the regime and
lock them up for reasons 0f “protective custody” or “preventive detenF
tion.” iirst concentration camp, Dachau, Was opened to hold them.
No charges had t0 be tiled against them, no warrant for their arrest was
necessary, no real evidence Was required. Some Were killed as they were -
Jewish Boycott April l, 1933.
The boycott took place on April l, 1933. Two SS rnen in their black
' uniforms and two storm troopers stood before each Jewish shop. The word Jude-Jew-Was painted across windows, or Judah verf-ecke!-
Jews perishëa favorite Nazi slogan. The boycott lasted just one day. It attracted attention around the world,
all of it negative. It had little effect on Germany, except to frighten and
Worry German Jews even more. -
April 7, Aryan Law (Civil Service=Government Jobs)
The Nazis moved quickly. On April 7, the first anti-Jewish law Was
passed. lt was called the “Law for the Restoration of the Civil Service,”
usually referred to as the Aryan Law. All nou-Aryans in the Civil service
were to be expelled. A “non-Aryan,” which meant a Jew, was deñned in
this first law as anyone who had Jewish parents or two or more Jewish
grandparents . Between that date and the end of year, anti-Jewish laws affected all
Jews in almost all the professions. `Tews were kept o -
THE NUREMBERG LAWS
The Nuremberg Laws were passed. They Were in two parts. One was
Called “The Law for the Protection of German Blood and German Honor,”
the second, “The Reich Citizenship Law.” First, the Protection Law. “Marriages between Jews and citizens of German or related blood are
forbidden. Marriages performed despite this ban are invalid, even if per-
formed abroad to avoid this law.” -
berlin book burning
The Nazi fever spread. On May 1, Berlin University students decided
on an act “against the un-Gerrnan spirit.” They collected the Works of
Í“undesirable writers” and threw them on a huge bonfire. They burned 70,000 tons of books before they were done. Josef Goebbels made a speech at the scene. -
Law#174-Jewish name change (8/1938)
If a Jew did not have a “recognizably Jewish” name, the women had t0
add “Sarah” and the men “Israel” as middle names t0 those they had. The
government published a list of over one hundred “recognizably Jewish” names. It included Menachem, Isidore, Baruch, Ziporah, Chana, Beine. All passports belonging to Jews were stamped with a J or the word
Jude. -
Night of Broken Glass (pogrom-violent mob attack of Jews) November 9and 10, 1938.
“A citizen of the Reich is only that subject of German or related blood
who proves by his conduct that he is ready and able to serve the German
people and the Reich faithfully.” “Only the full citizen of the Reich enjoys full political rights.” To remove any possibility of misunderstanding, clarifications made
their appearance a few weeks later. “A Jew cannot be a citizen of the
Reich. He has no right to vote in political affairs and he cannot hold
public ofñce.”A Jew was deůned once -
Jewish Star Requirement
In September 1941, “All Jews from the age of six are forbidden to
appear in public without displaying the Jewish star.” For the ñrst time
since the Middle Ages centuries earlier, a Jewish badge made its appear-
ance in the civilized world as a mark of shame.
