Antisemitism and the Holocaust
Antisemitism is the prejudice against or hatred of Jewish people. Antisemitism led the Nazis to target Jewish people and to carry out the genocide now known as the Holocaust.
Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party were antisemitic. This means that they hated Jews. The Nazi form of antisemitism was extreme. It was based on the false idea that Jews were a separate and inferior race. Antisemitism led the Nazis to target Jewish people and to carry out the genocide now known as the Holocaust. The Holocaust (1933–1945) was the organized persecution and murder of six million European Jews by the Nazi German government and its partner countries and helpers.
But antisemitism did not start with the Nazis. Prejudices against Jews had existed for almost 2,000 years before the Holocaust. In Europe, antisemitism had led to discrimination and violence against Jewish people for centuries. By the start of the 20th century, many antisemitic ideas were widely accepted by people in Germany and other European societies. This hatred made the Holocaust possible.
What is Antisemitism?
Antisemitism is the hatred of or prejudice against Jewish people. Being antisemitic means having a negative or hostile attitude towards Jewish people just because they are Jewish. Antisemitism is based on stereotypes, lies, conspiracy theories, and mistaken beliefs about Jews and the Jewish religion (Judaism).
The most important things to know about antisemitism are:
- Antisemitism is old. People have held prejudices against Jews and Judaism for thousands of years. The roots of antisemitism date back to ancient times and early Christianity. In the past, many Christian churches spread antisemitic ideas as part of their religious teachings, but most no longer do so.
- Antisemitism is widespread. Antisemitic prejudices exist all over the world. People of different nationalities, backgrounds, religions, and political affiliations believe antisemitic ideas even though they are false.
- Many different prejudices and stereotypes exist about Jews. Some antisemitic stereotypes are based on religious beliefs. Others are based on economic competition, extreme nationalism, or racism. Antisemitic ideas often cast Jewish people as outsiders or foreigners who do not belong.
- Antisemitic conspiracy theories often portray all Jewish people as dangerous or evil. Many of these theories claim Jews have enormous power over the economy, the media, or Hollywood. Some claim that Jews want to control parts or all of the world. None of these accusations are true.
- Antisemitism did not go away after the Holocaust and is dangerous. Antisemitism can lead to economic and social discrimination and exclusion. It can also escalate to mass violence and genocide.
How did people discriminate against Jews in Europe before the Holocaust?
For centuries, Jews were a minority in many European kingdoms, empires, and countries. They were seen as outsiders on a continent that was overwhelmingly Christian. For much of European history, Jews in Europe were discriminated against and harmed. They were treated differently and unfairly just because they were Jewish.
Beginning in the Middle Ages, a variety of authorities in Europe imposed restrictions on Jewish people. These restrictions were enforced by laws, decrees, and official policies. For example, authorities:
- restricted the types of jobs Jews were allowed to have;
- limited where Jewish people could live, for instance requiring them to live in separate areas of cities called ghettos;
- expelled Jewish people from countries or territories;
- made it illegal for Jews to own land;
- made Jewish people pay extra taxes; and
- forced Jewish people to wear markings on their clothes (such as yellow circles or yellow Jewish stars) or distinct dress (such as yellow clothes or special hats).
In the centuries before the Holocaust, antisemitism was a common prejudice in many European societies. Non-Jewish people often treated Jewish people differently. Antisemitic individuals or groups discriminated against Jews by:
- refusing to serve Jewish people in restaurants, stores, hotels, or other places of business;
- refusing to hire Jewish employees;
- banning Jewish students from attending certain schools and universities;
- refusing to admit Jews to social or professional clubs;
- saying all Jewish people look or act the same way;
- using slurs or telling jokes about Jews based on negative stereotypes; and
- spreading antisemitic lies and conspiracy theories in the press and media.
Antisemitism often led people to target Jewish people and places with violence. This included:
- vandalizing Jewish places of worship (synagogues), Jewish cemeteries, or Jewish schools;
- beating, attacking, or killing individuals solely because they were Jewish; and
- attacking Jewish communities during anti-Jewish riots (sometimes called pogroms) that often resulted in multiple deaths.
These violent actions continued during the Holocaust as the Nazis and their collaborators implemented their program of murdering Europe’s Jews.
Why did Hitler and the Nazis hate Jews?
Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party hated Jews. They drew on centuries of negative beliefs about Jewish people.
The Nazis also promoted a newer form of antisemitism called racial antisemitism. This type of antisemitism defined Jews by race, not religion. The Nazis believed that Jews belonged to a separate race. They claimed the “Jewish race” was inferior and a threat to Germany. This false and prejudiced belief was the basis for the Nazi persecution of Jewish people.
The Nazis promoted antisemitic conspiracy theories. They adopted the common antisemitic practice of wrongly blaming Jews for society’s problems. The Nazis blamed Jews for Germany’s defeat in World War I (1914–1918); for communism; and for Germany’s economic problems. They claimed that all Jews were a threat to Germany and that they had to be destroyed.
How did the Nazis put antisemitism into practice?
The Nazi German government discriminated against Jewish people from the moment Adolf Hitler came to power in 1933. Nazi anti-Jewish policies became increasingly radical over time. During World War II (1939–1945), the Nazis persecuted and murdered millions of Jewish people across Europe.
Throughout the entire Nazi era, the Nazis and their helpers isolated and excluded Jewish people in various ways. They often used long-standing antisemitic practices like the ones listed above. The Nazi version of these long-standing measures included:
- using newspapers, the radio, and other media to spread lies about Jews;
- passing laws excluding Jews from many jobs;
- denying Jews the full rights of German citizenship;
- organizing a boycott of Jewish-owned businesses;
- excluding Jewish students from schools;
- burning Jewish houses of worship (synagogues);
- stealing Jews’ property, including their homes and businesses;
- physically attacking Jewish people;
- requiring Jews to wear special markings, often a yellow star;
- expelling Jews from their homes; and
- forcing Jewish people to live in separate areas of cities or towns, called ghettos.
But, the Nazis took antisemitic practices to an entirely new level. During World War II, they carried out an organized, government-sponsored genocide and committed atrocities against Jewish people across Europe on an unprecedented scale. These atrocities included:
- imprisoning entire Jewish communities and exposing them to brutal and unsanitary conditions that lead to death from starvation, disease, hypothermia, and exhaustion;
- shooting Jewish people in mass executions; and
- murdering Jews with poison gas in killing centers.
During the Holocaust, the Nazis took advantage of long-standing antisemitism in Germany and throughout Europe. They found willing helpers across the continent from partner countries, to institutions, to individual collaborators. Antisemitism likely encouraged many people to stand by or join in as the Nazis pursued their murderous goals.
The Nazis and their partner countries and helpers murdered two-thirds of European Jews.
Critical Thinking Questions
Jews were less than 1 percent of the population in Germany in 1933. How and why was antisemitism so important to the Nazi platform and its eventual success?
How can deep-seated hatreds be countered?