Effect of the Anschluss

Although the Anschluss with Austria was banned under the Treaty of Versailles, it was a long-term ambition of German nationalists and was achieved in March 1938. The German takeover of Austria was achieved without a shot being fired, and the Germans were welcomed enthusiastically by the Austrian people. By 1938, Hitler was growing in confidence that Germany was ready for war if necessary. His next target was Czechoslovakia. When the Allies agreed to the German takeover, he had achieved another bloodless victory. The more radical phase of Nazi anti-Semitism was part of the more general radicalizing of the regime’s policies, which began in winter 1937. The occupation of Austria in March 1938 led to a rapid acceleration of the economic campaign against Jews as the Nazis in Austria were allowed to act against Jews without constraint.

Anti-Semitic Decrees 1938

In April 1938, all Jewish-owned property worth more than 5,000 marks was confiscated. This was part of their Aryanization of Jewish Property and businesses. From the 40,000 Jewish-owned businesses that existed before this point, a year later only around 8,000 had avoided being closed down. Further legislation banned Jews from working as traveling salesmen, security guards, travel agents, and estate agents, and they lost their entitlement to public welfare. From October 1938, the passports of German Jews had to be stamped with a large J in an attempt to make them easily identifiable and stripped them of their individuality. This led to a law in 1939 compelling all Jewish men to have an additional first name of Israel, and all Jewish women to take the name Sarah.

Kristallnacht 1938

On the night of the 9th - 10th of November 1938, life for Jews attempting to live a normal existence changed completely. Kristallnacht or the night of the broken glass was when Jewish homes and businesses were looted and vandalized, synagogues set on fire, and thousands of Jews were arrested, beaten up, and killed. This can be viewed as an uncontrolled outpouring of anti-Semitic feeling, and although Nazi leadership attempted to say this was not coordinated, in reality, it was orchestrated by the leadership, and those involved in the violence were a majority of SA and SS men who were instructed not to wear uniforms. Although some ordinary citizens joined in the violence, many German people were horrified by the destruction. Jews were made to pay for the repair of premises and loss, and Goering made sure insurance companies did not pay out.

Emigration

Hitler had spoken of making Germany Jew-free from the beginning. The first method of achieving this was voluntary emigration. As war approached, and the Nazi regime became more radical, the focus moved to force emigration. At first, the regime allowed Jewish emigration to a pair, but it was strictly controlled. In 1933, 37,000 Jews left Germany, including leading scientists and cultural figures. In total, 150,000 Jews left Germany between March 1933 and November 1938. It was complicated as the Nazis were both encouraging the Jews to emigrate and threatening to confiscate some of their assets. They were willing to encourage scientists to emigrate to Palestine, although most Jews did not choose this option. After Kristallnacht, this situation became more urgent, and many Jews now desperately sought safe refuge from the obvious dangers they faced in Germany. Controlling immigration was a key policy aim of the Nazi regime. By forcing Jews to leave, the Nazis could illegally seize Jewish Property and use it to fund the emigration of poorer Jews.

Impact of War Against Poland

This situation changed during the outbreak of war in September 1939. The conquest of Poland provided the regime with new territories in which Jews could be settled and brought more Jews under Nazi rule. The emphasis now moved from forced emigration to deportations and resettlement. Nazi anti-Semitism had become more blatant and extreme, but it was war that brought about the final radicalization of race policies. Between November 1939 and February 1940, the SS attempted to deport one million people eastwards, of which 550,000 were Jews.

Madagascar Plan

The idea of moving to the island of Madagascar was first promoted by French anti-Semites in the late 1930s but was picked up by the Nazis during their takeover of France. They felt they should take the island of Madagascar from the French to be a German and send four million Jews there, financed by the sale of British Property in Europe. Although Palestine was considered, there were practical problems with it as it was a small territory under British rule and not so far from Europe. Madagascar had vastly more space, and there were no serious political problems to get around. By October 1940, Hitler was planning to take over the USSR, and the Madagascar plan was shelved in favor of the plan to send Europe’s Jews deep into Siberia.

When was the Anschluss?

March 1938

When was Kristallnacht?

November 1938

When was policy intensified because of war with Poland?

September 1939