Amanda Aussems - Blog questions for November 18

Amanda Aussems

Blog Questions

For November 18, 2013 (Monday)

2. Once the Nazis gained power in Germany in 1933, how did they move against the Jews? 

When the Nazis gained power in Germany in the year of 1933, they sought to move against Jews in a progressive and swift manner. Their goal was to eliminate the beliefs of the French Revolution, which emancipated the Jews. Many laws were passed against the Jews in Germany and soon the Nazis began to remove Jews from practicing their rightful occupations. Jews were excluded from recreational activities and entertainment such as boxing and performing arts. In addition, Jews that were involved in the medical field were slowly but surely stripped of their physician titles and eventually forbidden to practice. These Jewish physicians were only allowed to treat Jewish patients and were derogatorily referred to as “sick-treaters” instead of physicians. Lawyers, shopkeepers, and businessmen were among those who faced persecution from the Nazi regimen. In addition, school children and individuals enrolled in universities were also affected. The Nazi ideals in which infiltrated the school system was especially dangerous because it reinforced the Nazi ideals to children at such a young age. All students, young and old were overall ostracized and looked down upon in the schooling systems. Eventually, all aspects of life for the secular Jew faced discrimination from Nazi influence. “From job dismissal to laws against Jews using public parks, mass transit, and swimming pools; attending movies, theatre, opera, and musical concerts; growing private vegetable gardens; possessing electrical appliances, cigars, cigarettes, and even house pets”, German Jews were ultimately shunned from partaking in every-day activities (378).

5. How did the Nazis organize mass theft from German Jews?

The process of Aryanization allowed for businesses owned by Jews to be essentially have been stolen. Aryanization refers to the “transfer (under pressure) of Jewish owned businesses to Aryan owners in two stages: a voluntary period from 1933 to 1938 and then a period of compulsory forced transfer after November 1938”, which became known as Kristallnacht. The practice of business transfers became a system for Nazi leaders to take over what rightfully belonged to the Jews, essentially robbing them for all they had. In the JAH reading, Hebert Göring, a influential figure in Ayranization outlined one of the strategies they used in order to take over Jewish owned firms. “One method is apparently [for us] to approach Jewish firms with an offer to help them as Party members by joining their board of directors administrative board, Executive Board or in some other ‘advisory capacity’, naturally in return for a fee… Once in the ties to the Jewish firm have been firmly established and people have managed some way to ‘get inside’, then difficulties of a personal or political nature are soon created for the Jewish owner” (381).