The Persecution of Jews in Nazi Germany on the Grounds of Racial Hygiene between 1933 and 1939 - Essay Example

? The persecution of Jews and others in Nazi Germany on the grounds of ‘racial hygiene’ between 1933 and 1939 (Date) Introduction I am convinced that the persecution of Jews and others in Nazi Germany on the grounds of ‘racial hygiene’ between 1933 and 1939 remains one of the most brutal and inhumane acts in the history of mankind. Racial cleansing to remain with a biologically superior race is not only a fallacy but also a total misconception of the existence of people from all races on the surface of the earth. Nazi Germany’s government that was then led by Hitler went on rampage promoting nationalism1 with a combination of major territorial expansions and pursuit of what they claimed to be a biological superiority based on the Aryan master race and the anti-Semitism. The German scientists2 did legitimize this propaganda and in that regard, the Nazis went on to do away with all Jews that were residing in Europe in the infamous holocaust through brutal killings and mass murders.3 What began as an initial target of the Jews, soon spread to other people who were not of German descend and thus they also became serious victims of unprecedented persecution and mass murder around German strongholds in Europe and in concentration camps that were set up for that sole purpose of racial hygiene. It was actually a notion of cleansing Germany of the individuals that were seen as threats to the health of German society.4 This paper looks at this incidence of racial cleansing as the idea behind the massive persecutions that took place in that period of 1933 to 1939 and seeks to establish the persecution of Jews in comparison to that of the other non-German people by the Nazi government. For us to critically evaluate and answer this question, we need to analyse the idea of racial hygiene, before embarking on looking at the impact that these actions had on both the two groups, Jews and others5; look at how the persecution was carried out; and the after effects of the persecution. The above issues will be well analysed and discussed before a conclusion is made. Nazi’s Idea of Racial Hygiene The racial hygiene was crafted by Hitler while he was in prison at Landsberg. In his imagination, he thought that for Germany to become stronger again there was need to cleanse it and get rid of inferior races through racial hygiene and eugenics. To him the nation was weaker and very corrupted by the infusion of some degenerate elements into the bloodstream of this nation. Neutralization of the weaker race became his decision. In 1920s growth of population was equated to having racial fitness and the idea of national strength. Racial hygiene was proposed as the only way to avert the problems. The doctors did play an important role in propagating Nazi policy because of the realignment of the medical profession with the Nazi after it took over power. Genetic health courts were also created and major Acts on racial legislation were passed in Germany starting from 1933 onwards geared towards elimination of the weak, while at the same time increase the birth rate by secluding women to homes and family where they were to bear many children, and strengthen the Aryan race. The persecution The persecution of Jews and other communities was based on the assumptions that Nazis could attain a pure race by having a cohesive national community, which did not have less valuable races or those from foreign regions. Persecution initially took the general discrimination of the races that were found not to be German through the scientific labelling process that considered family genealogies, observations, physical measurements, and the application of intelligence tests. As a result, all people were ranked as either inferior (non-Germans) or superior (German or Aryan race). Another form of persecution that was used was the subsequent sterilization of the inferior race so that they do not give birth to more inferior people so that costs such as those of education could be saved. At this point, we cannot single out the persecution as having targeted the Jews or non-Jews. This is because it was merely based on the Law for the Prevention of Genetically Diseased Offspring that subjected individuals to sterilization if they were ‘suffering’ from any of the nine identified hereditary conditions.6 The decision to sterilize soon became generally routine and failed to fully observe the nine conditions thus changing to target everyone except German. It was however feared that this approach would be used to eliminate the Jews and other political opponents seen as threats to the Nazi regime. Events changed when the sterilization later took a different turn by targeting the Jews and forcing the massive and complete emigration of all Jews. This was done by forceful emigration, first of the Austrian Jews, and later other Jews followed due to increased coordinated attacks on Jews and destruction of their property. This actually brings to light the fact that the idea of the superior race was initially crafted to eliminate the Jews but was carried out in gradual phases starting with the general public.7 Mercy killings became legal where many professionals were enlisted to carry out this program.8 Operation T-4 ended up targeting the adult for sterilization as opposed to the initial program for children. Judgement for one being unproductive became the order without putting in mind the human error in such judgments made out of physical examination. Political and intellectual leaders were eliminated, poles, Jews and the Gypsies were deported away from the areas occupied by the Reich. Killing by gassing using the carbon monoxide gas was done where over 70000 people were killed at one instance. The Jews were accused of spreading typhus and other diseases and thus they were locked up in Nazis marked-off sections of towns. A total of two million Jews became victims to this process. The other groups of people who were not Jews and non-Germans were selected for hard labour and killed if found to be weak.9 When we compare the persecution of the Jews with other people, we find that the Jews received the harshest persecution and were the major target of these operations. The killings and persecution of the Jews was a must and not pegged on any condition as the persecution process intensified. For example, when we look at the last massive killings, those who died are said to have been only Jews that were transported from different sections controlled by Germany. The gassing program was seen as the most efficient way of killing these Jews since shooting became increasingly disturbing to those who carried it out.10 The persecution that targeted the Gypsies in the early years of Nazi ruling was seen as the continuation of a traditional policy that was practiced in Gypsy culture. Most of these persecution of non-Jews was based on severe reduction of public social welfare benefits, closing public campsites, police checks that were meant to harass the non-Germans so as to push these people to emigrate, and charging high rental payments for very small dwellings so that they could force them to leave.11 The other persecuted groups such as these Gypsies also were forced into concentration camps where they were guarded and strictly supervised besides being prohibited to move out. The non-German groups especially those thought to have originated from the Indians were labelled untouchables.12 Thus, such groups received no education because they were considered senseless.13 I do not think it would be accurate to isolate the persecutions carried out at this period of time and peg it on either Jews or non-Jews. Much as the most targeted group were the Jews, the persecution also concentrated on those people who were considered weak as has been discussed above. For example, the experiments that were carried out in the concentration camps actually did involve people from other races who were not Germans. They were used as guinea pigs for various experiments for example whether high doses of radiation could bring about sterilization, and new surgical techniques where they injected the people in camps with gasoline and subsequently shocking them to find out how these new procedures would kill them, among others. My argument could be evidenced by the fact that the horrors of the Holocaust were actually influenced by many factors, which included politics, economics, military and social aspects of society. Religious faith also played a major role on deciding who to be persecuted or killed.14 It pointed out the total disregard for human life and dignity of the Nazi operators. The testimony of Jewish survivors captures all of these atrocities.15 The contrast in terms of the persecution between the Jews and the other non-Jews comes only when we look at it from the perspective of who was qualified for elimination or persecution. This brings us to the fact that any Jews despite his condition were liable for elimination. The Jews were killed and brutally treated notwithstanding their status as per the law. While when it comes to the other non-Jews people, their persecution was majorly driven by them qualifying for elimination under the nine conditions set out in law. To some extend where the Jews were not involved, the non-Jews were subjected to hard labour and other energy demanding activities without direct killing or elimination unless they grew weaker. The other basis for their killings or persecution was the political and economic ideology alignment. Those who were capitalists were spared while communists were persecuted. Conclusion The persecution process did not start abruptly but took part in gradual processes. Initially, it targeted the general public but later narrowed down to specific groups of interests such as the Jews, Romans, Gypsies and others. The severity of persecuting the Jews was, however; a bit intense and quite comprehensive as compared to other groups. the activities of the Nazi persecutions of non-Germans cannot be fully addressed in one academic paper. However, what remains clear is the impact of this event in the history of Germany and the whole world. Bibliography Bankier David, The Germans and the Final Solution: Public Opinion under Nazism (Oxford, 1992), 73–74 Berenbaum Michael and Peck Abraham J., eds., The Holocaust and History: The Known, the Unknown, the Disputed, and the Reexamined (Bloomington, 1998). Brubaker Rogers, Citizenship and Nationhood in France and Germany (Cambridge, Mass., 1992), 114–37 Burleigh Michael and Wippermann Wolfgang, The Racial State: Germany, 1933–1945 (Cambridge, 1991); Caplan Jane, Government without Administration: State and Civil Society in Weimar and Nazi Germany (Oxford, 1988), 143–46. Childers Thomas, The Nazi Voter: The Social Foundation of Fascism in Germany, 1919–1933 (Chapel Hill, 1983) Garbe Detlev, Zwischen Widerstand und Mar-tyrium: Die Zeugen Jehovas im “Dritten Reich” (Munich, 1994) Kater Michael H., The Nazi Party: A Social Profile of Members and Leaders, 1919–1945 (Cambridge, Mass., 1983) Niewyk Donald L., ed., Fresh Wounds: Early Narratives of Holocaust Survival (Chapel Hill, 1998), 268–72, here 271 Noakes Jeremy, “Social Outcasts in the Third Reich,” in Life in the Third Reich, ed. Richard Bessel (New York, 1987), 83 –96. Read More