The Horrors Of The Nuremberg Laws

On September 15, 1935 the first two laws of the Nuremberg Laws were enacted. The laws were a clear violation of the Jewish people’s civil rights. Many of the laws imposed on the freedom of the Jewish people. These laws were enacted by a cold and cruel dictator by the name of Adolf Hitler. The Nuremberg laws were a very strict and immoral set of laws that discriminated against the Jewish people. Above all, the laws were offensive and demeaning.

Adolf Hitler was born April 20, 1889 and would eventually become a terrible dictator. He wanted to go into art school, but was rejected. The person who rejected him was Jewish, and some believe that was where his hatred toward the Jewish people came from. Hitler rose to power by being elected, he did not take control by force, he was elected by the German people. Once he had control of the government, he passed the enabling act, which enabled him to make and pass any law on his own; he did not need the approval of the rest of the government.(Palma) This is what permitted the passing of the Nuremberg Laws. After passing the laws, he focused his hatred on the Jewish people and would go on to kill millions of Jews.

The Nuremberg Laws were the start of the “Aryanization” of Germany.

The Nuremberg Laws were offensive and demeaning to the Jewish people. The laws labeled Jews as unclean and prohibited them from marrying Aryans. The laws also prevented them from holding respectable jobs such as a Doctor, Lawyer, Professor etc. etc. The wording of the laws referred to the Jewish people as inferior. They portrayed Jews as something they were not.

One of the biggest civil rights violations of the laws was their infringement on the freedom of the Jewish people. One of the first additions to the Nuremberg Laws stated that a Jewish person could not be or become a German citizen. Jewish people who were German citizens had their citizenship revoked. The Nuremberg Laws went so far as to say that Jewish families could not employ German women under forty-five years of age as housekeepers. Many of the freedoms that the general population enjoyed were taken away from the Jewish people. The SS could storm into homes and take belongings that suggested the inhabitants of the house were Jews. They were restricted from certain areas and punished if they were caught in said areas. They were also made to wear a patch that designated them as Jews. Eventually they were forced to move from their homes into the ghettos. This forced migration corralled them to make their deportation easier and more successful.

The Nuremberg Laws were and are often referred to as the “Blood Laws”. This is because they were all based on the blood of the person in question. You were considered to be Jewish if you had three grandparents who were Jewish. If you only had two, you were considered mischling of the first degree. If you had only one, you were mischling of the second degree. There were however, other ways of classifying you as Jewish. If you were a part of a Jewish church when the Nuremberg Laws were issued, or joined after, you were considered Jewish. If you were married to a Jew or were the child of a marriage with a Jew that was conducted after the ban was placed, you were considered Jewish. If you were the born out of wedlock from one or two Jewish parents, you were considered Jewish. Regardless of religious affiliation, if you met any of the criteria above, you were considered a Jew. One of the many flaws with this way of thinking is that Judaism is not a race, it is a religion.

The Nuremberg laws and the Holocaust could have possibly been avoided. Maybe, if he had been accepted into art school, he would have gone on to be a painter, instead of a Dictator turned mass murderer. An early Jewish revolt could have possibly ended the holocaust. Many Jews would have been killed in the process, however, it could be argued that not as many would have died overall had there been an early Jewish revolt. All things considered, the Nuremberg Laws were one of the biggest atrocities that occurred during World War II.

“The Nuremberg Race Laws” <http://www.historyplace.com/worldwar2/holocaust/h-nurem-laws.htm>

Marrus, Michouel R. The Holocaust in History. New York: Penguin Books. 1987.

“The Nuremberg Laws”<http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Holocaust/nurmlaw2.html>

Palma, Heather. Personal Interview April 01, 2010

“The Triumph of Hitler” <http://www.historyplace.com/worldwar2/triumph/tr-nurem-laws.htm>