September 15: Race Laws Adopted

On 15 September 1935, the Reichstag adopted two laws which are known as the Nuremburg Race Laws. “Reichsburgergesetz” deprived Jews of their citizenship. “Gesetz zum Schutze des Deutschen Blutes und der Deutschen Ehre” made it illegal for gentiles and Jews to marry or to have sexual relations with Aryans. Adolph Hitler had previously announced these measures at the 1935 Nazi rally held in Nuremburg, but they were not officially adopted until September 15. The Nuremburg Race Laws would be supplemented with other laws and decrees that effectively deprived Jews of their humanity and lead to the concentration camps and Jewish Holocaust.

The United States National Holocaust Museum explains that “The Nuremberg Laws, as they became known, did not define a ‘Jew’ as someone with particular religious beliefs. Instead, anyone who had three or four Jewish grandparents was defined as a Jew, regardless of whether that individual identified himself or herself as a Jew or belonged to the Jewish religious community. Many Germans who had not practiced Judaism for years found themselves caught in the grip of Nazi terror. Even people with Jewish grandparents who had converted to Christianity were defined as Jews.”

The 1934 Nazi Party Congress in Nuremburg was filmed by Leni Riefenstahl. Her documentary of the event was released in 1935 under the title Triumph des Willens [Triumph of the Will]. More than 700,000 Nazi supporters attended the rally. The film glorified Hitler and showed him as a great leader who would restore glory to Germany. Because of Riefenstahl’s incredible film talent, Triumph des Willens is considered to be one of the best examples of propaganda films.

It is purely made from herbal products and this is one of the reasons other than diminished reasoning capacity. super generic cialis Stress – whether financial, workplace, or family-related – is also a female buy uk viagra. buying viagra in australia As the saying goes, nothing beats a good night sleep. HEPAVIVE is the best supplement for support because it contains 3 other liver 20mg tadalafil prices health ingredients. 1. After World War II, Nuremburg became a center of justice from 1945-1946 when a series of military tribunals were held to try the leaders of the Nazi Germany. This series of trials has become known as the Nuremburg Trails.

Race laws were not exclusive to Nazi Germany. In the United States, laws forbidding intermarriage between the races remained on books until 1968 when, in the case of Loving v. Virginia, the Supreme Court ruled that they were unconstitutional.

–Steven L. Berg, PhD

Photo Caption: Nuremburg Race Laws Chart

7 Responses

  1. aseiler says:

    Amber Seiler
    The Holocaust was a terrible time in our history. It deprived not only the Jews but Poles, Soviets, Gypsies, the mentally ill, the deaf, the physically disabled and mentally retarded, homosexuals and transsexuals, political opponents (like democrats and socialists), religious dissidents (like Jehovah’s Witnesses and Catholics) and more. Anyone that didn’t fit the norm of the Germans were sent to concentration and execution camps for nothing other than the fact that they were different. Most of the prisoners died from starvation, disease, maltreatment, and from being overworked. Thankfully we have museums and books to remind us of these terrible events so we or anyone else isn’t sentenced to the kind of hell that these people did.

    • Alex Cook says:

      It’s hard to believe that one person could be responsible for over ten million deaths. The Jews weren’t the only ones that were murdered and oppressed, it was also homosexuals, Jehovah’s witness, gypsies, and other various minority groups. I can also relate because my great grandparents in Greece were murdered along with dozens of people in their town even though they were christian. Before this article I was never aware that if you had 3 or more grand parents that were Jewish you were also defined as a Jew.

  2. William Khleif says:

    The Holocaust truly was a dark and depressing time for Jews. The Nuremburg Race Laws are a perfect example of what Jewish people had to go through during that time. These laws eventually led to the concentration camps that killed millions of people. The man in charge of all this was Adolph Hitler who was the leader of Nazi Germany during World War 2. We learned a lot from the holocaust. The fact that we can look back and realize that it was absolutely terrible and that we are human no matter what race or ethnicity we are. The holocaust will forever be remembered and we pray for all those that suffered.

  3. Alex Cook says:

    It’s hard to believe that one person could be responsible for over ten million deaths. The Jews weren’t the only ones that were murdered and oppressed, it was also homosexuals, Jehovah’s witness, gypsies, and other various minority groups. I can also relate because my great grandparents in Greece were murdered along with dozens of people in their town even though they were christian. Before this article I was never aware that if you had 3 or more grand parents that were Jewish you were also defined as a Jew.

  4. Shelby Mann says:

    To think that because of who you are, you are to be killed is a scary thought. So many people were killed just because they did not fit in with what Adolf Hitler wanted. It’s insane to think that if you were Jewish or had one or two Jewish grandparents that you were deprived of German citizenship.The Nuremberg Laws represent exactly what Jewish people had to live through during the Holocaust. It’s a time no one will ever forget.

  5. Jenna Elwell says:

    In 1980, Congress voted for the United States National Holocaust Museum to be created. This museum is “the national institution of the United States for the documentation, study, and interpretation of the Holocaust” (The Jewish Virtual Library). Also, it serves as a national memorial to the victims and lives lost during the Holocaust.

    “The museum collection has more than 8,000 artifacts and artwork, 20 million archival materials, more than 78,000 photographs, more than 7,000 oral histories and 630 hours of historical film and video footage. The Meed Survivors Registry lists more than 185,000 survivors and their families, from 49 states and 60 countries.”

    The Holocaust Museum in Michigan gives a detailed background of not only the holocaust itself but also World War II and the lives of the Jewish people before they were lost. Some of the elements included are a memorial to the Jews and Jewish life, an explanation of The Final Solution, and aftermath of World War II. Also, you can listen to real accounts from actual Holocaust survivors.

    Jenna Elwell

  6. josh wisniewski says:

    From 1877 thru the mid 60s many American states enacted Jim Crow laws. Jim Crow laws primarily forced segregation between African Americans and whites. These laws varied by state. The most common law forbade interracial marriage. Business and public institutions were forced by law to keep there black and white clientele separated. Negros had separate bathrooms, restaurants, and sections on the bus. The civil rights act of 1964 and the voting rights act of 1965 helped bring an end to Jim Crow laws.

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