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EUROPEAN HISTORYDOCUMENT BASED QUESTION

Created by Jennifer Norton

Argonaut High School, Jackson, CAMandel Fellow – United States Holocaust Memorial Museum 1999-2000

Directions: The following question is based on accompanying Documents 1-14.(Some of the documents have been edited for the purpose of this exercise.)

This question is designed to test your ability to work with historical documents. As you analyze the documents, take into account both the sources of the documents and the authors’ point of view. Write an essay on the following topic, which integrates your analysis of the documents. Do not simply summarize the documents individually. You may refer to relevant historical facts and developments not mentioned in the documents, although you are not required to do so.

Describe and analyze the evolving nature, methods and purposes of German law and mass communication as they related to Jews in the years 1919-1940.

Historical Background: Beginning with the French Revolution, Jews were ‘emancipated’ and restrictions on most or all of their civil rights were lifted by the late nineteenth century in every country except Spain, Portugal, Austria and Russia. As a result, many more Jews were able to integrate or assimilate into the civic and economic life of their nations, especially in Western European countries such as Germany. In the years after the First World War, Germany faced political and economic upheavals, which ultimately led to the rise of Adolph Hitler’s Nazi party in the 1920’s and Hitler’s seizure of power in Germany in 1933.

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Document 1

Source: The Weimar Constitution of 1919

Article 136 – Civil and Political Rights

(1) Civil and Political rights and duties are neither dependent on nor restricted by the exercise of the freedom of religion.(2) Enjoyment of civil and political rights and eligibility for public office are independent of religious denomination. (3) No one is bound to disclose his religious convictions. The authorities have no right to inquire into a person’s membership of a religious body

Document 2

Source: Poster pasted on the walls of the Source: Nazi Party Poster, 1920 German Reichstag, 1920

“Death to the Lies: Marxism - High Finance”

“GERMANY”

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Document 3

Source: 25 Point Program of the National-Socialist (NAZI) German Workers’ Party, Munich, February 24, 1920

1. We demand the uniting of all Germans within one Greater Germany…

3. We demand land and soil (Colonies) to feed our people and settle our excess population.

4. Only Nationals (Volsgenossen) can be Citizens of the State. Only persons of German Blood can be Nationals, regardless of religious affiliation. No Jew can therefore be a German National.

5. Any person who is not a citizen will be able to live in Germany only as a Guest and must be subject to legislation for Aliens.

6. Only a Citizen is entitled to leadership and the laws of the State…only Citizens may hold public office…

7. We demand that the State…provide opportunities of employment first for its own citizens. If it is not possible to maintain the entire population of the State, then foreign nationals (non-citizens) are to be expelled from the Reich.

24. We demand freedom for all religious denominations, provide they do not endanger the existence of the State or offend the concepts of decency and morality of the German people.

The Party as such stands for positive Christianity…It fights against the Jewish-materialistic spirit within and around us…

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Document 4

Source: Adolph Hitler, Mein Kampf, 1925

As I calmly and clearly deepened my knowledge of Marxism and thus the effects of the Jewish people, destiny itself gave me the answer. The Jewish doctrine of Marxism rejects the aristocratic principle of nature and sets in its place the eternal power and strength and dead weight of its numbers. As a foundation of the universe this doctrine would bring about the end of any intellectually comprehensible order. If the Jew with the help of his Marxist creed is victorious over the peoples of the world, then his crown will be the funeral wreath of humanity. Thus I believe today that I am acting according to the will of the almighty Creator: when I defend myself against the Jew, I am fighting for the work of the Lord.

Document 5

Source: Joseph Goebbels, “The Jew” from the magazine Der Angrff, January, 1929

One cannot fight the Jew by positive means. He is a negative, and this negative must be erased from the German system, or he will forever corrupt it.

The Jew has nothing to say about German questions. He is a foreigner, an alien, who only enjoys the rights of a guest, rights he always abuses.

One must either affirm or reject anti-Semitism. He who defends the Jew harms his own people. Opposing the Jews is a matter of personal hygiene.

We are delighted that we are constantly attacked in the Jewish gazette. They may shout about terror. We answer with Mussolini’s familiar words: “Terror? Never! It is social hygiene. We take these individuals out of circulation just as a doctor does to a bacterium.”

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Document 6

Source: German Board game introduced in the 1930s

The game is called: “Juden Raus!” (“Jews Out!”)

The directions include: “If you manage to see off sixJews, you’ve won a clear victory!”

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Document 7

Source: Julius Streicher, editor of magazine Der Stuermer (The Stormer) article entitled, “Secret Plans against Germany Revealed”, July 1933

The Protocols* are Genuine

The Jew used the Marxist movement to rouse the people against the nobility and royalty [in Russia]. He incited revolutions in Russia, Austria and Germany. He caused economic crisis and threw workers out on the streets. The Jew committed mass murder with unprecedented brutality. More than 30 million people were killed in Soviet Judah under the leadership of the Jews Trotsky, Sinowjew, etc. Pan-Jewry is working to realize the ‘prophecies of the Protocols.’

He has been uncovered, his criminal plans have been discovered, and a battle is coming like the world has never seen. World Jewry faces Adolph Hitler. The Jewish people are the people of the Devil. It is a people of criminals and murderers. The Jewish people must be exterminated from the face of the earth.

* In 1905, a notorious forgery written mainly by agents of the Russian secret police and known as “The Protocols of The Elders of Zion” was published in Russia, and was soon translated into every language in Europe. Based on a satirical (and NOT anti-Semitic) pamphlet written in 1864, attacking the political ambitions of Napoleon III, the “Protocols” purported to be the minutes of a secret conference of Jewish leaders in which they make plans for world domination. Erroneously attributed by the Russians to the First Zionist Congress at Basle, Switzerland, in 1897, the “Protocols” was exposed as a forgery in 1921, yet was still regarded as gospel truth by many of the leaders of Europe in the years leading up to World War II.

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Document 8

Source: 1935 textbook entitled Hereditary and Racial Biology for Students.

HOW WE CAN LEARN TO RECOGNIZE A PERSON’S RACEAssignments

• Summarize the spiritual characteristics of the individual races.• Determine the physical features which go hand in hand with specific

racial soul characteristics of the individual figures.• Collect propaganda posters and caricatures for your race book and

arrange them according to a racial scheme. What image of beauty is emphasized by the artist (a) in posters publicizing sports and travel? (b) in publicity for cosmetics? How are hunters, mountain climbers and shepherds drawn?

• Observe people whose special racial features have drawn your attention, also with respect to their bearing when moving or when speaking. Observe their expressions and gestures.

• Observe a Jew: his way of walking, his bearing, gestures and movements when talking.

• What strikes you about the way a Jew talks and sings?

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Document 9

Source: Nuremberg Laws, 1935

Law for the Protection of German Blood and German Honor – September 15, 1935

S1(1) Marriages between Jews and national of German or kindred blood are forbidden. Marriages concluded in defiance of this law are void…

S2Relations outside marriage between Jews and nationals of German or kindred blood are forbidden,

S3Jews will not be permitted to employ female nationals of German or kindred blood in their households.

S4Jews are forbidden to hoist the Reich and national flag and present the colors of the Reich.

First regulation to the Reich Citizenship Law - November 14, 1935S5

(1) A Jew cannot be a citizen of the Reich. He has no right to vote in political matters; he cannot occupy a public office.

(2) Jewish officials shall be retired as of December 31, 1935. If these officials fought at the front in the World War, for Germany or her allies, they shall receive the full pension to which they are entitled…they shall not, however, advance in seniority.

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Document 10

Source: Picture printed in all German newspapers 1935

Woman’s sign reads: “I am the greatest pig in town – I have affairs with Jews only.”

Man’s sign reads: “I only take German girls to my room.”

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Document 11

Source: German Reich Law

Fourth Regulation to the Reich’s Citizenship LawJuly 25, 1938

S 1Licenses of Jewish physicians expire on September 30, 1938.

S 3(1) Jews whose license has expired are prohibited from practicing medicine.

(2) A Jew who is granted permission may, other than his wife and child, treat only Jews.

S 5(1) Physicians whose license has expired and who were front line soldiers can, in the event of need and if deserving, be granted a subsistence allowance…that can be revoked at any time.

Decree on the Exclusion of Jews from German Economic LifeNovember 12, 1938

S 1(1) Jews are as of January 1, 1939 prohibited from operating retail businesses, mail-order businesses, or trading posts, as well as from independently operating crafts businesses.

(2) Further, effective the same day, they are prohibited from offering goods, advertising for them, or taking orders in all types of markets, fairs, and exhibitions.

S2(1) As of January 1, 1939, a Jew can no longer be a business manager…

(2) If a Jew is an executive in a business enterprise, he can be given a six-week termination notice…

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Document 12

Source: Der Giftplitz (The Poisonous Mushroom) A children’s book published in 1938 Chapter 1: The Poisonous Mushroom

A mother and son are gathering mushrooms in the German forest. “Look, Franz, there are good mushrooms and there are good people. There are poisonous, bad mushrooms and there are bad people. Do you know who these bad men are, these poisonous mushrooms of mankind?”“Of course I know mother! They are the Jews! Our teacher has often told us about them.”“Yes my child! Just as a single poisonous mushroom can kill a whole family, so a solitary Jew can destroy a whole village, a whole city, even an entire Volk.” “The following tales tell the truth about the Jewish poison mushroom. They show the Jew for what he really is: The Devil in human form.”Chapter 3:How the Jews Came to Us

“Once they came from the East,

Dirty, lousy without a cent;But in a few years

They were well-to-do

Today they dress very well;Don’t want to be Jews anymore

So keep your eyes open and make a note:Once a Jew always a Jew!”

Chapter 10: Inge’s Visit to a Jewish Doctor

[Inge is ill and her mother insists that she go to Dr. Bernstein] “Why Dr. Bernstein? He is a Jew! No real German girl goes to a Jew,” Inge replied.

“Don’t talk nonsense! Jewish doctors are all right. They are always chattering nonsense at your BDM[League of German Girls] meetings.”

“Mother, we BDM girls understand the Jewish question better than many of our parents. Our leader says: ‘ The Jews want to destroy the German people. Many girls who went to a Jewish doctor for healing found instead sickness and shame.’ ”

[Inge obeys her mother and goes to the Jewish doctor] “The door opens. The Jew appears. In terror she lets the news- paper drop. The Jew comes toward her. His fat fingers grasp for her...Before the Jew can grab her she hits the face of the Jew doctor… Breathlessly she dashes out of the Jew-house…” In tears she returns home. [Mother promises never to criticize the BDM again and says]: “I’m finding that one can learn even from you children.”

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Document 13

Source: Teaching Units from German High School History Textbook, 1935-1939

The German Worker Under Jewish InfluenceThe Influence of Marx

Class HatredThe Influence of Jews on the Press, Theater, Books

The Treaty of Versailles and its EvilsGerman Freedom Under HitlerWorking Towards World Peace

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Document 14

Source: Film Review and selected stills with captions from the Nazi produced film Der Ewige Jude (The Eternal Jew), 1940

“The Eternal Jew is the first film that not only gives a full picture of Jewry, but provides a broad treatment of the lives and effects of this parasitic race using genuine material taken from real life. It also shows why healthy people in every age have responded to the Jews with disgust and loathing, often enough expressing their feelings through deeds.

Just like rats, the Jews 2000 years ago moved from the Middle East. This film must be shown everywhere where anti-Semitism is still questioned. No one will fail to shudder at the sneaking servility and dirty bartering of the Jews when they start out, at the perfidy, insidiousness and vulgarity of their methods, at the brutality and all devouring hatred they exhibit when they reach their goal and control finance.”

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Sources for DocumentsAP European History DBQ on German Policies 1919-1940

Documents 1:Germany – Weimar Constitution www.uni-wuerzburg.de/law

Document 2: Beyond the Pale: The History of Jews in Russia www.friends-partners.org/partners/beyond-the-pale

Documents 3:Yad Vashem – www.yadvashem.org.il/holocaust/documents

Document 4:H-Net Humanities and Social Sciences OnLine:http://www2.h-net.msu.edu/~german/gtext/kaiserreich

Document 5:Randall Bytwerk, German Propaganda Archive www.calvin.edu/academic

Document 6:Stephane Bruchfeld and Paul Levine, Tell ye your children… Swedish Government Offices Living History Project, Stockholm, 1998 p.5

Document 7:Randall Bytwerk, German Propaganda Archive

Document 8:Marvin Perry, Joseph Peden, Theodore Von Laue, Sources of the Western Tradition, Vol.1, Fourth ed., Houghton Mifflin Company, NY, 1999

Document 9: In Pursuit of Justice, United States Holocaust Memorial Council Publication

Document 10:Beyond the Pale

Document 11:In Pursuit of Justice

Documents 12 & 13:Randall Bytwerk, German Propaganda Archive

Document 14:Stills and Narration from “Der Ewige Jude” www.holocaust-history.org/der-ewige-jude