Nazi boycott of Jewish businesses
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The Nazi boycott of Jewish businesses in Germany took place on 1 April 1933, soon after the coming into power of Adolf Hitler and the Nazi party on 30 January 1933, which was the first of many measures of the Nazi regime against Jews of Germany, which ultimately culminated in the "Final Solution".
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[edit] Background
In 1933, there were about 600,000 Jews in Germany, less than one percent of the total population. Most[quantify] Jews in Germany were proud to be Germans[citation needed], citizens of a country that had produced many great poets, writers, musicians, and artists. More than 100,000 German Jews had served in the German army during World War I, of whom 12,000 were killed in action and many were decorated for bravery.
Jews held important positions in government and taught in Germany's renowned universities. Of the 38 Nobel Prizes won by German writers and scientists between 1905 and 1936, 14 went to Jews. Marriage between Jews and non-Jews was becoming more common. Although German Jews continued to encounter some discrimination in their social lives and professional careers[citation needed], many were confident of their future as Germans. They spoke the German language and regarded Germany as their home.
[edit] National boycott
On April 1, 1933, the Nazis carried out the first nationwide, planned action against Jews: a boycott targeting Jewish businesses and professionals. The boycott was both a reprisal and an act of revenge prompted by Greuelpropaganda (atrocity stories) that German and foreign Jews, assisted by foreign journalists, were allegedly circulating in the international press to damage Nazi Germany's reputation.
On the day of the boycott, the SA stood menacingly in front of Jewish-owned department stores and retail establishments, and the offices of professionals such as doctors and lawyers. The Star of David was painted in yellow and black across thousands of doors and windows, with accompanying antisemitic slogans. Signs were posted saying "Don't Buy from Jews" and "The Jews Are Our Misfortune." Throughout Germany, acts of violence against individual Jews and Jewish property occurred; the police intervened only rarely.
[edit] Consequences
Although the national boycott operation, organized by local Nazi party chiefs, lasted only one day and was ignored by many individual Germans who continued to shop in Jewish-owned stores, it marked the beginning of a nationwide campaign by the Nazi party against the entire German Jewish population.
A week later, on 7 April 1933, the Law for the Restoration of the Professional Civil Service was passed, which restricted employment in the civil service to "Aryans." This meant that Jews could not serve as teachers, professors, judges, or other government positions. Jewish government workers, including teachers in public schools and universities, were fired.
[edit] References
- ^ "Boycotts", Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies, University of Minnesota, retrieved September 6, 2006.
[edit] Notes
- This article incorporates text from the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, and has been released under the GFDL.
[edit] External links
- United States Holocaust Memorial Museum - Boycott of Jewish Businesses
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