Persecution of minorities Cambridge IGCSE History revision
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In plain words
The Nazis divided people into those who belonged and those who did not. Step by step, law by law, they took away the rights, the work and the safety of those they had decided did not belong. It began with a boycott of shops. This unit covers the years to 1939.
9 things to know
- Why the Nazis persecuted: they believed that Germans belonged to a superior race, which they called Aryan, and that other groups were inferior and a danger to it. Anti-Semitism, the hatred of Jews, was at the centre of Nazi ideas.
- They also wanted a society in which everyone was healthy, hard-working and obedient. Those who did not fit were to be removed.
- In 1933 Jews were less than 1% of the German population. In April 1933 the Nazis organised a boycott of Jewish shops, and Jews were dismissed from the civil service.
- The Nuremberg Laws of 1935 took German citizenship away from Jews, and banned marriage between Jews and non-Jews.
- On 9 November 1938, on Kristallnacht, the "Night of Broken Glass", Nazi gangs attacked Jewish homes, shops and synagogues across Germany. About 90 Jews were killed, and about 30 000 Jewish men were sent to concentration camps.
- After that, Jews were shut out of schools and businesses. By 1939 about half of Germany's Jews had left the country.
- The Roma and Sinti peoples were also treated as racially inferior. They were registered, and many were sent to camps.
- People with disabilities were targeted. From 1933 hundreds of thousands were forcibly sterilised. From 1939 many thousands of disabled people were murdered in a secret programme.
- Others were persecuted too: homosexual men, people labelled "asocial", such as the homeless, and Jehovah's Witnesses, who refused to serve in the army.
Worked example
Explain how the treatment of Jews in Germany changed between 1933 and 1939. This is a 6-mark question.
- 1933: economic pressure and exclusion, with the boycott of shops and dismissal from government jobs.
- 1935: the loss of legal rights, as the Nuremberg Laws took away citizenship and banned marriages with non-Jews.
- 1938: open violence, on Kristallnacht, followed by exclusion from schools and businesses. The persecution grew steadily worse at each stage.
Tips and tricks
- Three dates give the outline: 1933 boycott, 1935 Nuremberg Laws, 1938 Kristallnacht. Each was a step further than the one before.
- Persecution was not only of Jews. Be ready to name other groups: Roma, people with disabilities, homosexual men, Jehovah's Witnesses.
It lands in your notebook with its questions as flashcards.
Persecution of minorities: 5 questions and answers
These are the quiz’s questions. Do the quiz first, then come back here for the ones that got you.
What is anti-Semitism?
It was at the centre of Nazi ideas.
In which year were the Nuremberg Laws passed?
They removed citizenship from Jews.
What does Kristallnacht mean?
It took place in November 1938.
What was done to many people with disabilities from 1933?
From 1939 many were murdered.
Why is the persecution of the Jews before 1939 described as gradual?Stretch
Each step made the next one easier to accept.
Quiz
5 questions
Tap an answer and you’ll see straight away whether it’s right, and why.
Worksheet
3 questions, 14 marks. Write your answers on paper, then check them.
Persecution of minorities
Cambridge IGCSE History 0470 · 14 marks · papermunch.org
Name ______________________________ Date ______________
What were the Nuremberg Laws?[4]
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They were laws passed in 1935. They took German citizenship away from Jews. They banned marriage, and relationships, between Jews and non-Jews. They made Jews second-class members of society by law.
What happened on Kristallnacht?[4]
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On 9 November 1938 Nazi gangs attacked Jews across Germany. Jewish homes, shops and synagogues were damaged or destroyed. About 90 Jews were killed. About 30 000 Jewish men were arrested and sent to concentration camps.
Why did the Nazis persecute minority groups?[6]
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They believed that Germans were a superior race, and that groups such as Jews and Roma were inferior and a threat to it. They wanted a nation of healthy, productive people, so they targeted those with disabilities, and those who did not fit their idea of normal life. They also used Jews as scapegoats, blaming them for Germany's defeat and its economic problems.
Answers: Persecution of minorities
- 1. They were laws passed in 1935. They took German citizenship away from Jews. They banned marriage, and relationships, between Jews and non-Jews. They made Jews second-class members of society by law.
- 2. On 9 November 1938 Nazi gangs attacked Jews across Germany. Jewish homes, shops and synagogues were damaged or destroyed. About 90 Jews were killed. About 30 000 Jewish men were arrested and sent to concentration camps.
- 3. They believed that Germans were a superior race, and that groups such as Jews and Roma were inferior and a threat to it. They wanted a nation of healthy, productive people, so they targeted those with disabilities, and those who did not fit their idea of normal life. They also used Jews as scapegoats, blaming them for Germany's defeat and its economic problems.