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The Nazi German regime enacted discriminatory laws and organized violence targeting Germany’s Jews. They quickly began using the government to target and exclude Jews from German society. -
The Nazis falsely accused Jews of causing Germany’s social, economic, political, and cultural problems. They blamed them for Germany’s defeat in World War I -
The Nazis believed that the world was divided into distinct races and that some of these races were superior to others. They considered Germans to be members of the supposedly superior “Aryan” race. They asserted that “Aryans” were locked in a struggle for existence with other, inferior races. The Nazis believed that the so-called “Jewish race” was the most inferior and dangerous of all. -
Antisemitism, the hatred of or prejudice against Jews, was a basic tenet of Nazi ideology. Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party came to power in Germany. -
During this time, Germany annexed neighboring Austria and the Sudetenland View This Term in the Glossary and occupied the Czech lands. -
Nazi Germany further extended its control by forming alliances with the governments of Italy, Hungary, Romania, and Bulgaria. It also created puppet states in Slovakia and Croatia. -
On September 1, 1939, Nazi Germany began World War II (1939–1945) by attacking Poland. -
as a result of annexations, invasions, occupations, and alliances—Nazi Germany controlled most of Europe and parts of North Africa. Nazi control brought harsh policies and ultimately mass murder to Jewish civilians across Europe.
The Nazis and their allies and collaborators murdered six million Jews.