The Nuremberg Laws transformed the definition of Jewish identity from religious to racial, stripping rights and paving the way for the Holocaust. Top Photo: German Nuremberg Law teaching chart that distinguishes the hierarchal difference between German-blooded individuals, Jews, and those in between, distributed in Accession Number: As Darwin-based eugenic thinking caught on in the s and s, many antisemitic ideologues increasingly began proposing that Jews were a race.
Race, of course, is a social construct, created entirely by humans to define in-groups and out-groups, but even social constructs have immense power. He claimed that Bolshevism — the Soviet version of communism — was linked to Jewishness. Just as in other epochs they strove to reach the same goal by other, though inwardly related processes.
Their endeavor lies profoundly rooted in their essential nature. After becoming chancellor of Germany in January , Hitler and his Nazi colleagues quickly learned that they needed to soft-peddle their antisemitic messaging when a nationwide boycott of Jewish businesses on April 1, , largely failed to gain traction with the general public.
By all accounts, the Nuremberg Laws were fabricated on a whim. Hitler also intended to announce that Jews could no longer hoist the flag. Yet, two days before the scheduled address, Hitler decided he wanted more dramatic legislation. State officials worked into the wee hours scrambling to codify anti-Jewish bills that would seek to define Jews racially.
Hitler announced these laws at the rally later that day. German Nuremberg Law teaching chart that distinguishes the hierarchal difference between German-blooded individuals, Jews, and those in between, distributed in As shown, if one had three or four Jewish grandparents, one was considered racially Jewish. Only someone without any Jewish grandparents was categorized as being of German blood.
