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German History: 4 Ethnic Minorities - Weimar Germany - Coggle Diagram
German History: 4 Ethnic Minorities - Weimar Germany
The Historical Roots of Antisemitism
Can be traced back to about 2000 years ago when Jews were driven from the land now known as Israel by the Romans
The notion of Jews as 'Christ-Killers' originates from interpretations of the crucifixion of Jesus
The Dreyfus Affair in France highlighted deep-seated antisemitism in the military and conservative circles
The Russian Empire also had antisemitic violence in the late 19th and early 20th century
Antisemitic attitudes in Germany before the Weimar Republic
Turned very antisemitic in late 19th century due to figures like Houston Stewart Chamberlain and Alfred Ploetz
Influenced by the ideas of Social Darwinism and that races were in competition for survival and dominance
Influenced by the rise of the 'volkisch' movement which promoted ideas of German ethnic identity
Eugenic was a popular idea in the early 20th century globally that aimed to improve generic quality of the human race through selective breeding
The status of Jews
Article 109 of the Constitution states "All Germans are equal before the law"
Jewish assimilation in Germany progressed between 1870 and 1918 with many Jews gaining equal citizenship after German unification in 1871
Assimilation is the process where individuals integrate into a broader community by picking up social norms etc
By the end of the 1920s 1 in 3 Jews married non-Jewish Germans
A lot of Jews worked in professions like law, medicine, teaching and journalism (dominated department stores)
German Jews were mostly middle class with nearly 30% of German Jews in 1928 were engaged in commercial activity
The liberal atmosphere of the Weimar Republic allowed Jews to flourish in areas like the arts and sciences
Hugo Preuss (Jewish lawyer), Bertoit Brecht (Jewish playwright), George Grosz (artist), Albert Einstein (physicist) and Walter Rathenau (industrialist)
Antisemitism
Eastern European Jews ('Ostjuden') weren't well assimilated and faced violence
Anti-jewish riots in November 1923 triggered by the financial crisis where shops were vandalised, residents beaten and properties looted
Hyperinflation in 1923 led to increased resentment towards Jewish businessmen due to their prominence in media and financial sectors
The depression on the 1930s further increased antisemitism and it made it a fertile ground for extremist movements
Antisemitism fuelled by link s between Jews and communism with people like Rosa Luxemburg (Spartacist leader)
Nazis spread the idea that the defeat in WW1 was due to betrayal by the Jews leading to Walter Rathenau (politician) being executed
Antisemitic violence during the Weimar Republic was sanctioned by the state
Nationalists and right-wing groups promoted antisemitism and conspiracy theories
Attitudes towards Black Germans
They faced heavy discrimination in employment and weren't accepted into many professions
Ethnographic exhibitions or human zoos existed and reinforced racial hierarchies and colonial idealogy
Population was small in cities like Berlin and Hamburg
Heavily present in the Rhineland due to French colonial troops from Africa and were depicted as perpetrators of violence and sexual assault known as the 'Rhineland Bastards'