Nuremberg Laws Against Jews
The Nuremberg Laws greatly affected the society of Germany during WWII. Many of the Jews living there were very prosperous, which really angered those who were not so lucky. The Nazis and their leader, Adolf Hitler, wanting to support the majority of people in Germany, created the Nuremberg Laws to annoy the Jews and also gain the support of the other German citizens. The laws indirectly restricted the Jew’s livelihoods, confiscated their property, took away their jobs, and encouraged emigration. The Nuremberg Laws had a huge effect on the Jews because they were denied their rights, they were abused, and their way of life changed drastically for the worse.
Behind the Laws
Because of their wealth, the Germans had a strong hatred toward the Jews. The Nazis, therefore, treated the Jews inhumanely. They destroyed synagogues and Jewish owned stores. To make matters worse, Jews were now categorized as people with at least one Jewish grandparent, in addition to those practicing Judaism (“Nuremberg Laws”). All of them were forced to wear the Star of David just to show that they were Jewish (Newman 8). The Sturmabteilung or SA, part of the Nazi party, began harassing Jews while other Nazis arrested them (Newman 13). Many people believed, “These laws demonstrate the ways in which the legal system, in the hands of the wrong people, can be perverted and used to incite violence” (Newman 9). The Nuremberg Laws were set up primarily out of jealously and Hitler’s love of power.
Other Nuremberg Laws
In September 1935, at a Nazi convention, Hitler presented the Laws to his followers (“Nuremberg Laws”). The Reich Citizenship Law proclaimed that there would be no Jewish citizens of Germany (“Nuremberg Laws”). Because of this, approximately 60,000 Jews reluctantly left Germany (Newman 19). The Law of Protection of German Blood and Honor prohibited marriage and sexual intercourse between Germans and Jews (“Nuremberg Laws”). “The Nuremberg Laws demonstrate the fear the Nazis had of ‘blood poisoning’” the people felt (Newman 66). Also, this law proclaimed the employment of German women under the age of 45 in a Jewish household was forbidden (“Nuremberg Laws”). The raising of the German flag by a Jew was also prohibited (“Nuremberg Laws”). These laws were very discriminatory.
Effect on the Jews
The Nuremberg Laws gave the Jews a very bad reputation.
Jews were no longer allowed to vote in Germany and they were excluded from schools, libraries, theaters, and public transportation facilities (Herzstein 138).
Jewish teachers lost their jobs, while artists, musicians, and actors were banned from performing for German audiences (Herzstein 138).
Jewish men were forced to add “Israel” as their middle name; Jewish women, however, added “Sarah” (Herzstein 138).
The Jews that refused to leave Germany were moved into ghettos (Newman 63). The Warsaw Ghetto, the largest, killed hundreds of thousands of Jews (newman 63). Starvation, disease, and murder were the main causes of their deaths (Newman 63).
“The Nuremberg Laws… gave an individual with a grudge against another person the power to send that person to his or her death” (Newman 61). The Nuremberg Laws brutally hurt the Jews.
