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The Condemned
After taking power in 1933, the Nazi had concentrated on silencing their political opponents- communists, socialists, liberals, and anyone else who spoke out against the government. Once Nazi had eliminated these enemies, they turned against other groups in Germany. -
The Persecution Begins
Shortly after Hitler took power in Germany, he ordered all " non- Aryans" to be removed from government jobs. This order was one of the first campaign fro racial purity that eventually let to the Holocaust- the systematic murder of 6 million Jews across Europe. The Nazi also murdered 5 million other people. -
Targeted Jews
Jews were the center of the Nazis' targets. Anti-Semitism, or hatred of the Jews,had a long history in many European countries. For decades many Germans looking for a scapegoat had blamed the Jews as the cause of their failures. Hitler believe that Jews were responsible for Germany's economic problems and defeat in World War 1. Nazis tightened the hold on Germany which made the persecution of Jews increase. -
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Kristallnacht " Night of Broken Glass"
Nazi storm troopers attacked Jewish homes, businesses, and synagogues across Germany and Austria. An American who witnessed the violence wrote, "Jewish shop windows by the hundreds were systematically and wantonly smashed...The main streets of the city were a positive litter of shattered plate glass." 100 Jews were killed and hundreds were injured. Some 30,000 Jews were arrested and hundreds of synagogues were burned. Afterwards the Nazis blamed the Jews for the destruction. -
The Plight of the St. Louis
Germany's Jews was in evidence in the case of the ship St. Louis. This German ocean liner passed Miami in 1939. although 740 of the liner's 943 passengers had U.S. immigration papers, the Coast Guard followed the ship to prevent anyone from disembarking in America. The ship was forced to return to Europe.
