Nuremberg Laws

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The Nuremberg Laws of 1935 were denaturalization laws passed by the government of Nazi Germany. They used a pseudoscientific basis for racial discrimination against Jews. People with four German grandparents (white circles on the chart) were of "German blood", while people were classified as Jews if they descended from three or more Jewish grandparents (black circles in top row right). One or two Jewish grandparents made someone "mixed blood." The Nazis used the religious observance of a person's grandparents to determine their race.

A conference of ministers was held on August 20, 1935, to discuss the negative economic effects of Party actions against Jews. Adolf Wagner, the Party representative at the conference, argued that such effects would cease, once the government decided on a firm policy against the Jews.

Dr. Schacht, the Economics Minister, criticized arbitrary behavior by Party members as this inhibited his policy of rebuilding Germany's economy. It made no economic sense since Jews were believed to have certain entrepreneurial skills that could be usefully employed to further his policies. Schacht made no moral condemnation of Jewish policy and advocated the passing of legislation to clarify the situation. The following month two measures were announced at the annual Party Rally in Nuremberg, becoming known as the Nuremberg Laws. Both measures were hastily improvised (there was even a shortage of drafting paper so that menu cards had to be used) and Jewish experts from the Ministry of the Interior were ordered to Nuremberg by plane.

The first law, The Law for the Protection of German Blood and German Honour,^[1] prohibited marriages and extra-marital intercourse between “Jews” (the name was now officially used in place of “non-Aryans”) and “Germans” and also the employment of “German” females under forty-five in Jewish households. The second law, The Reich Citizenship Law ^[2], stripped persons not considered of German blood of their German citizenship and introduced a new distinction between “Reich citizens” and “nationals.” .

The Nuremberg Laws by their general nature formalized the unofficial and particular measures taken against Jews up to 1935. The Nazi leaders made a point of stressing the consistency of this legislation with the Party program which demanded that Jews should be deprived of their rights as citizens. The laws were passed by the Reichstag, even though Hitler had the power to pass laws without their approval, given to him by the Enabling Act.

After the example of the Nuremberg Laws, in Bulgaria during World War II was passed The Law for protection of the nation , also with strong antisemitic character.

Contents 1 The Laws for the Protection of German Blood and German Honour 2 The Reich Citizenship Law 3 Existing manuscripts 4 References 5 See also 6 Further reading

[edit] The Laws for the Protection of German Blood and German Honour

(September 15, 1935)
Entirely convinced that the purity of German blood is essential to the further existence of the German people, and inspired by the uncompromising determination to safeguard the future of the German nation, the Reichstag has unanimously resolved upon the following law, which is promulgated herewith:

Section 1

1. Marriages between Jews and citizens of German or kindred blood are forbidden. Marriages concluded in defiance of this law are void, even if, for the purpose of evading this law, they were concluded abroad.
2. Proceedings for annulment may be initiated only by the Public Prosecutor.

Section 2

1. Extramarital intercourse between Jews and subjects of the state of German or related blood is forbidden.

(Supplementary decrees defined a Jew as a person with at least one Jewish grandparent and declared that Jews could not vote or hold public office.) (citation needed)

Section 3

Jews will not be permitted to employ female citizens of German or kindred blood as domestic workers under the age of 45.

Section 4

1. Jews are forbidden to display the Reich and national flag or the national colors.
2. On the other hand they are permitted to display the Jewish colors. The exercise of this right is protected by the State.^[3]

Section 5

1. A person who acts contrary to the prohibition of Section 1 will be punished with hard labour.
2. A person who acts contrary to the prohibition of Section 2 will be punished with imprisonment or with hard labour.
3. A person who acts contrary to the provisions of Sections 3 or 4 will be punished with imprisonment up to a year and with a fine, or with one of these penalties.

Section 6

The Reich Minister of the Interior in agreement with the Deputy Fuhrer and the Reich Minister of Justice will issue the legal and administrative regulations required for the enforcement and supplementing of this law.

Section 7

The law will become effective on the day after its promulgation; Section 3, however, not until January 1, 1936.

[edit] The Reich Citizenship Law

The Reich Citizenship Law stripped persons not considered of German blood, including Jews, of their German citizenship and introduced a new distinction between “Reich citizens ” and “nationals.” Certificates of Reich citizenship were in fact never introduced, and all Germans other than Jews were provisionally classed as Reich citizens until 1945.

(September 15, 1935)

Article 1

1. A subject of the State is a person who belongs to the protective union of the German Reich, and who therefore has particular obligations towards the Reich.
2. The status of subject is acquired in accordance with the provisions of the Reich and State Law of Citizenship.

Article 2

1. A citizen of the Reich is that subject only who is of German or kindred blood and who, through his conduct, shows that he is both desirous and fit to serve the German people and Reich faithfully.
2. The right to citizenship is acquired by the granting of Reich Citizenship Certificate.
3. Only the citizen of the Reich enjoys full political rights in accordance with the provision of the laws.

Article 3

The Reich Minister of the Interior in conjunction with the Deputy of the Führer will issue the necessary legal and administrative decrees for carrying out and supplementing this law.

[edit] Existing manuscripts

A manuscript of the laws signed by Hitler himself were found by a military intelligence team commanded by Martin Dannenberg in Eichstätt, Bavaria, Germany in April 1945. They were handed over to General George S. Patton. During a visit to Los Angeles, California, he handed them over to the Huntington Library. The manuscripts were stored until June 26, 1999 when their possession was revealed. They are on permanent loan to the Skirball Cultural Center, which placed them on display in 2006.

[edit] References

[edit] See also

• Mischling
• Rhineland Bastards
• German Blood Certificate
• Racial policy of Nazi Germany
• Useful Jew
• Limpieza de sangre
• Second-class citizen
• T-4 Euthanasia Program
• Nazi eugenics
• Aryanization
• Wilhelm Stuckart

[edit] Further reading

• The Nuremberg Laws on Citizenship and Race text, translated into English
• Race Laws