Sterilization

Before the Nazis came to power, the state government had drafted a law to allow the sterilization of those with hereditary defects. The Nazis took this further by introducing compulsory sterilization for certain categories of "inferiors." The hereditary diseases listed in the law permitted sterilization of children over 10 and the use of force after age 14 with no right to legal representation. The law was also amended to permit abortions in cases where those deemed suitable for sterilization were already pregnant. During the Third Reich, 400,000 people were sterilized.

Euthanasia

The Nazis' desire to create their master race did not stop at sterilization but also included banning sexual relationships between Aryans and Jews. By October 1939, the regime had authorized euthanasia for the mentally and physically disabled, as they were regarded by the Nazis as an unproductive burden on Germany’s resources and as a threat to racial hygiene and the biological strength of the Volk. The euthanasia program was started by a specific case of a badly disabled child in early 1939. The child’s father wrote to Hitler to ask for his child, or the "creature" as he called him, to be put to sleep. Medical staff in hospitals and asylums had to report on children suffering from mental and physical illnesses, and on the basis of these reports, children were sent to special hospitals to be starved to death or given lethal injections. Parents were assured that their child had died in spite of receiving the very best treatment. The program was rapidly expanded and moved to larger headquarters in Berlin: Tiergarten 4. It became known as the T4 program.

End of T4

By 1941, rumors about the policy of euthanasia were spreading widely and aroused opposition. Although proceedings of complaints and accusations of murder got nowhere, this worried the regime. From July 1940, the churches got involved in protesting, and although the leaders of these protests were arrested by the Gestapo, there were still official statements released from Rome about how these killings were against the will of God. The Nazi regime was alarmed by the hostile public reactions, and on the 24th of August 1941, Hitler halted the program. This did not mean the end of the drive to implement Nazi racial ideology; it was just a tactical pause.

Policies Towards Asocials

The term "asocial," as used by the Nazis, covered a wide range of people who were deemed to be social outcasts. These included criminals, the work-shy, tramps and beggars, alcoholics, prostitutes, homosexuals, and juvenile delinquents. Nazi policy introduced tough measures against these groups and gave the police power to enforce them. The approach towards asocials hardened and became more systematic as time went on. Many were sent to concentration camps, cleared from the streets of the city, and in one place, they created a social colony with the aim of re-educating asocials so they could be reintegrated into society.

Policies Towards Homosexuals

Like other European countries, homosexuality was outlawed in Germany before 1933. Homosexuality did flourish in Berlin and other large cities during the liberal climate of the Weimar Republic, but the Nazis viewed homosexuals as degenerates and a threat to the racial health of the German people. In 1933, the Nazis began a purge of homosexual organizations and literature. Clubs were shut, organizations for gay people were banned, gay publications were outlawed, and students were attacked. Men were arrested, and over 22,000 were imprisoned between 1936 and 1938 for being homosexual. Lesbians did not suffer the same degree of persecution as they were considered to be asocial rather than degenerate.

Policies Towards Religious Sects

There were a number of Christian sects that had become established in Germany by the time the Nazis came to power. These included Jehovah’s Witnesses, Christian Scientists, Seventh-day Adventists, and members of the New Apostolic Church. All of these had international links, which made the Nazis suspicious about their loyalties, and most were banned by the regime in 1933. Although many groups had their bans lifted when they showed loyalty to the state, the Jehovah’s Witnesses were the only religious group to show uncompromising hostility to the Nazi State. They refused to take a loyalty oath by Hitler and refused to give the Hitler salute. They regarded persecution against them as a test of their faith. When imprisoned, they refused to obey orders and did manage to make some converts in the camps through their persistent resistance.

Roma and Sinti

Jews were not the only victims of the intensification of Nazi race policies after 1935. There was also growing persecution of Germany’s 30,000 gypsies or Roma and Sinti people. Gypsies had been subjected to legal discrimination well before 1933, but the Nazis made the persecution much more systematic. The Nazis warned that the Nuremberg laws applied to gypsies too and set up a new Reich central office for the fight against the gypsy nuisance.

Why was the T4 program stopped?

Your answer should include: Opposition / Germany / World / Churches
Explanation: The T4 program was stopped because of the opposition it was getting widely in Germany and across the world, particularly from churches.

Who was counted as asocial?

Your answer should include: Criminals / Work-Shy / Tramps / Beggars / Alcoholics / Prostitutes / Homosexuals / Juvenile Delinquents

Which religious sects caused problems and why?

Your answer should include: Jehovah’s Witnesses / Obey / Nazi Orders / Converts
Explanation: The Jehovah’s Witnesses refused to obey Nazi orders, kept resisting, once arrested refused to obey orders, and even made some converts in the camps.