Media Essay
Anti-Jewish Legislation in Prewar Germany - Photographs
The Nazi regime issued more than 400 anti-Jewish decrees in its first six years of power. These policies gradually stripped Jews of their rights, livelihoods, and property. Altogether, the decrees functioned to separate Jewish people from the rest of German society.
Jewish lawyers line up to apply for permission to appear before the Berlin courts
Jewish lawyers line up to apply for permission to appear before the Berlin courts. New regulations set forth in the Aryan Paragraph (a series of laws enacted in April 1933 to purge Jews from various spheres of state and society) allowed only 35 to appear before the court. Berlin, Germany, April 11, 1933.
Item ViewScene from the 1935 Nazi Party Congress
Rows of SA standard bearers line the field behind the speaker's podium at the 1935 Nazi Party Congress. Adolf Hitler addresses the crowds from the podium. Nuremberg, Germany, September 1935.
Item ViewSamples of the Nuremberg Race Laws
Samples of the Nuremberg Race Laws (the Reich Citizenship Law and the Law for the Protection of German Blood and Honor). Germany, September 15, 1935.
Item ViewChart illustrating the Nuremberg Laws
Chart illustrating the Nuremberg laws. The figures represent Germans, Jews, and Mischlinge. Germany, 1935.
Item View"Aryanization" of Jewish-owned businesses
"Aryanization" of Jewish-owned businesses: a formerly Jewish-owned store (Gummi Weil) that was expropriated and transferred to non-Jewish ownership (Stamm and Bassermann). Frankfurt, Germany, 1938.
Item ViewPassport stamped with "J" for "Jude"
Passport issued to Lore Oppenheimer, a German Jew, with "J" for "Jude" stamped on the card. "Sara" was added to the names of all German Jewish women. Hildesheim, Germany, July 3, 1939.
Item ViewPassports issued to a German Jewish couple
Passports issued to a German Jewish couple, with "J" for Jude (the German word for Jew) stamped on the cards. Karlsruhe, Germany, December 29, 1938.
Item View