How did Hitler’s policy affect the lives of the Jews Essay Example
Hitler possessed strong anti-Semitic views for many reasons.
He and fellow Nazis were strong believers in Social Darwinism, which was survival of the fittest; Hitler called the superior race in his opinion, the "Aryans". He therefore believed that the Jews should be eliminated. Also, anti-Semitism had a long history, so the Jews were an easy scapegoat for Germany's problems that Hitler could use. In addition to that, the Jewish people were often very successful and wealthy, so Germans thought that they were stealing money from them, and in many instances were jealous of them. So, Hitler adopted strong anti-Semitic policies; they were not the most popular of his decisions, but they were carried out with great strength.There were 5 main stages to the persecution of the Jews:* Livelihoods were attacked,* They were singled
...out,* Nuremburg Laws,* Violence,* Final Solution.
At first, the Jews' livelihoods were attacked. Many of them were sacked from their jobs, such as those who were teachers and doctors. They weren't allowed to serve on a jury or work with Aryans.The next stage was more serious, which was when the Jews were singled out.
Their passports were stamped with a "J", and in public they were forced to sit on separate yellow benches. Furthermore, their shops had a Star of David painted on them, and Jews had to wear a Star of David badge.The next step of persecution was a legal one. The Nuremberg Laws were passed on the 15th September 1935, which took away Jews' citizenship.
They also were not allowed to marry an Aryan or have sexual relations outside of marriage with an Aryan.The next and most violent act of persecution
began when a Jew killed a Nazi diplomat on 7th September 1938. This was the excuse for a mass outbreak of terror over the 9-10th September 1938. The windows of synagogues and homes were smashed (see Fig. 2). It was organised by the SS and the police were told not to interfere, as 400 synagogues and 7500 shops were destroyed.
91 Jews were killed, and the Jews were fined over 1 billion marks for the damage, with the Nazis making them clean the streets on their hands and knees.The Nazis referred to what they considered the problem of the Jews as the "Jewish Question". In 1938, the head of the SS was pushing to have this problem coordinated and solved. Jews could no longer cross borders and leave Germany, and by 1940, Hitler was seeking a "Final Solution". This was formalised at a meeting in Berlin, at the beginning of 1942, and aimed for the mass extermination of the Jewish race. The main way that this would be accomplished was through sending Jews to concentration camps.
Hitler's social policy therefore had a profound and devastating impact on the lives of the Jews. However, there has been debate on whether he is solely to blame, or whether the German public also had some responsibility. The historian Ian Kershaw has stated, "the road to Auschwitz was built by hate, but paved with indifference".
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