During the early 1930s, the country of Germany was in the process of recovering from a very costly first world war. Military actions, from the previous war had cost the country millions in financial resources. In addition, both economic problems and political fighting severely weakened the government in Germany.
The promise of a new Germany, a type of national rebirth resonated with many German citizens in the early 1930’s. At the core of the Nazi vision was the idea of national community, which was depicted as the complete opposite of the infighting that was currently seen. Using this desire for cohesion and unity, the Nazi party presented the idea that all those who were outside the ideal of the community, or community aliens such as Jews, homosexuals, communists, should be excluded from the new national community. This idea was not a new one within the public spectrum of discourse (Bel, 2009, p.2, Stone, 2004). Many searching for a way to assign blame and responsibility for their current economic and political problems, the exclusion of those unlike themselves was a welcomed idea.
Building on this foundation, the Nazi Party began to systematically exclude the Jewish community from daily life in Germany through a series of laws and edicts designed to separate and eventually eliminate the Jewish people from the German nation (Wachsmann, 2008 p 126-130). The first of these was the Reich Citizenship Law of September 15, 1935. This law set into law three basic ideas. The first was that the only people who could enjoy the protection of the German Reich were Reich Citizens, and in becoming Reich citizens, they had an obligation to the Reich. In addition, citizenship could only be obtained by adhering to specific ideas and actions. The second article of the law detailed exactly how one would be considered for citizenship. In order to become a Reich citizen, you needed to be German, or related blood, and prove by actions or conduct that you were willing to faithfully serve the Reich. Finally, once the criteria were met, citizenship was granted through a citizenship certificate granted by the Reich. The Deputy Fuhrer was put in charge of implementing the law.
The second item was the Law for the Protection of German Blood and German Honor, which was enacted on September 15, 1935. This law, which consisted of seven articles aimed to continue to separate the Jewish people from the German nation and its people. According to this law, marriages between Germans and Jews were prohibited, extramarital relationships between Jews and the Reich citizens were also prohibited, and it was also prohibited for Jews to employ German females under the age of 45 in their household. It was also forbidden for Jews to display the colors of the Reich, but they were allowed to display Jewish colors under the protection of the state. In addition, specific consequences were detailed for those who disobeyed the law, including jail terms, and fines. Once again, implementation of the law was left to the Deputy Fuhrer of the Reich and the Minister of Justice.
In addition to the systematic separation and eventual elimination of Jews and other groups within the civilian areas of life, the same systematic approach was implemented within the military sphere. A series of Staff Command Secret Documents issued by the High Command of Wehrmacht, were issued detailing the specific guidelines for the Treatment of Political Commissars, or those in military command and administrative command for the Russian Bolshevik army. Based on the idea that the Bolsheviks and their ideas would be detrimental to the success of the Reich, it was determined that no mercy or respect would be shown to them in battle, and that action should be taken against them and their perceived barbaric nature. Military personal were instructed to kill them upon encountering them, and no prisoners were to be taken. Also it was determined that through Operation Barbarossa, that commissars of every type and rank would be dealt with using the same protocol. It was also detailed in another secret document, issued to high ranking police and SS officer command, that both Jews and Communists within the military were to be executed based on the idea that they were in cooperation with enemy forces.
Bibliography
Bel, G., 2009 Against the Mainstream: Nazi Privatization in 1930s Germany in The Economic History Review
Stone, D. 2004 The Historiography of the Holocaust Palgrave MacMillian University of London, pp 1-556
Wachsmann, N., 2008 The Policy of Exclusion in the Nazi State, 1933-1939. in The Oxford History of Germany: The Third Reich 2008, Oxford University Press pp 122-145
