Evaluating the Plight of the European Jews during the Nazi Rise to Power
The European Jew was one of the elements that could have blocked the Nazi form gaining Power, creating the need for a discrimination strategy. Before the Nazis came to power,the EuropeanJews, especially in Germany, had records of success in propagating their culture and Power, although there were episodes of victimization. The community hand prospered due to tolerance from the leadership, leading to increased numbers, some who added through immigration after mistreatment in other countries (Joskowicz 110). Due to the increased numbers, the Nazis felt that the Jews were a threat to Germany’s leadership and would influence more people against Hitler’s leadership. The Jews were becoming a legitimate culture and would have fought for a share and proper leadership from the Nazis. The Jews plight occurred through discrimination practices from the Nazisto reduce their power in the public and resources, discourage immigration and end their roots in Germany and void government opposition.
Among the strategies which the Nazi used to reduce the influence of the Jews and which led to their plight was anti-Semitic legislation to lower public Power and resources. The Nazis developed laws that would discriminate and ensure that the Jews would have minimal influence on other communities, especially in mobilizing against the government (Noakes 297). In the beginning, the Nazis developed the Restoration of the Professional Civil Service Act (1933) to kick out all Jews from the civil servant field. The act purported that the government was re-establishing professionalism and nationalism by replacing some communities, including the Jews. Such a strategy led many of the Jews jobless and demotivate more immigration as the Nazi aimed. The Jews could also not succeed in mobilizing people against the government since they did not influenceagenda setters who are civil servants. Apart from the legislation, there were other discriminatory acts, including violation of human rights since the government, through the law, recognized some of the communities,including Jews, as non-citizens(Joskowicz 113). The Jews were not allowed to attend universities or owning anything. Through violation of such rights, the Nazisensured that the Jews were uncomfortable so that they could leave Germany or stay without any influence because they had no resources such as education and finances. Therefore, the Jew’s plight in lack of employment, businesses, and education was a discriminatory strategy to reduce their numbers and influence.
The Jew’s plight, including risky life and genocide, also occurred as a strategy to reduce their increasing numbers,primarily through immigration. One of the elements that were making the Jews strong and a threat to the Nazis was their growing numbers and expanding territories(Joskowicz 110). The reduction of their Power and resources through anti-Semitic legislation was not sufficient to lower their influence against the Germany leadership. Hitler and the Nazis employed another strategy of reducing their immigration, leading to another set of sufferings. The government planned war that led to the capture of most areas like Austriaand Weimar,where the Jews occupied to reduce the space for more immigration (Haffner 196). With reduced space, the Jews moved to slums, which were not appealing for immigrants than in the initial case where Germany was a haven. Apart from forcing the Jews to occupy slums, the Nazis focused on reducing their numbers through actual killing. The strategy employed was to force the Jews to labor despite their weakness due to lack of food and nutrition. Forced laborwas also a strategy of discouraging more immigrants alongside reducing those Jews already in Germany(Joskowicz 113). The concentration of the Jewish in slums, on the other hand, ensured that they could not influence other tribes against the government through limited interactions. Those who did not manage to work died, leading to reduced numbers of Jews.
As more discrimination and violation of rights occurred, the Nazi gained more legitimacy for more inhuman strategies of directly killing the Nazis to end their presence. The anti-Semitic laws and reduced territories of the Jews legitimized the Nazi actions as good for Germany leading to more courage to severe acts of killing. Deportation and execution became the Final Solution to reduce the Jew’s numbers to almost zero drastically(Joskowicz 114). In the last solution, the government did not have an excuse like rejuvenating nationalism because it had gained more Power. There is an indication that the plight was focused on ensuring no influence against the government since the Nazis had no reason for the deportationand mass killing of the Jews. Therefore, the Jew’s suffering in execution was a strategy to end their roots in Germany and hence allow smooth leadership.
In conclusion, the plight of the European Jews resulted from autocratic leadership from the Nazis to ensure that the government faced no opposition. The strategies leading to the plight focused on three strategies, including reducing the Jew’s Power and resources, discouraging immigration, and ending their roots or numbers in Germany.The increased population of the Jews and their occupation in the public service was a threat to the government since they had more power and numbers to mobilize people. The Nazis, therefore, looked for strategies that would ensure reduced power and numbers to minimize the Jew’s influence.
Works Cited
Haffner, Sebastian. Germany: Jekyll and Hyde—An Eyewitness Analysis of Nazi Germany. Plunkett Lake Press, 2019.
Noakes,Jeremy. The Development of Nazi Policy towards the German-Jewish “Mischlinge” 1933–1945.The Leo Baeck Institute Year Book, 34.1 (1989): 291- 354.
Law for the Restoration of the Professional Civil Service (1933)
Joskowicz, Ari. “Separate Suffering, Shared Archives: Jewish and Romani Histories of Nazi Persecution.” History & Memory 28.1 (2016): 110-140.