On April 1, 1933—less than 3 months after rising to power—the Nazis staged a nationwide boycott of Jewish businesses. The boycott signaled the start of the Nazi movement to exclude Jews from all aspects of German society.
Three Jewish businessmen are forced to march down a crowded Leipzig street while carrying signs reading: "Don't buy from Jews. Shop in German businesses!" Leipzig, Germany, 1935.
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Scene during the boycott of Jewish businesses. A sign on truck carrying Storm Troopers (SA) urges "Germans! Defend yourselves. Don't buy from Jews." Berlin, Germany, April 1, 1933.
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Members of the Storm Troopers (SA), with boycott signs, block the entrance to a Jewish-owned shop. One of the signs exhorts: "Germans! Defend yourselves! Don't buy from Jews!" Berlin, Germany, April 1, 1933.
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An SA member instructs others where to post anti-Jewish boycott signs on a commercial street in Germany. A German civilian wearing a Nazi armband holds a sheaf of anti-Jewish boycott signs, while SA members paste them on a Jewish-owned business. Most of the signs read, "Germans defend yourselves against Jewish atrocity propaganda/Buy only at German stores." Germany, ca. April 1, 1933.
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A boycott sign posted on the display window of a Jewish-owned business reads: "Germans defend yourselves against Jewish atrocity propaganda. Buy only at German shops!" Berlin, Germany, April 1, 1933.
Item ViewHanne's family owned a photographic studio. In October 1940, she and other family members were deported to the Gurs camp in southern France. In September 1941, the Children's Aid Society (OSE) rescued Hanne and she hid in a children's home in Le Chambon-sur-Lignon. Her mother perished in Auschwitz. In 1943, Hanne obtained false papers and crossed into Switzerland. She married in Geneva in 1945 and had a daughter in 1946. In 1948, she arrived in the United States.
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