Jews Introduction

"In 1933 approximately nine million Jews lived in the 21 countries of Europe that would be military occupied by Germany during the war. By 1945 two out of every three European Jews had been killed by the Nazis. 1.5 million children were murdered. This figure includes more than 1.2 million Jewish children, tens of thousands of Gypsy children and thousands of handicapped children."

~ The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum

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In the period between Hitler’s Rise to Power (1933) and the start of World War II (1939), Hitler began another war. He held no remorse for just how hot the flames of hate would rage, and it was all directed at the extermination of one culture: the Jews. Hitler hated them more than anything else in the world.

So arises the question: What is a “Jew”?

That question can only be answered without the generalities of a simple definition. Visit this Website for a very in-depth explanation of Jewish religion, practices, culture, beliefs, and facts.

The dictionary defines being a Jew as: “A member of the widely dispersed people originally descended from the ancient Hebrews and sharing an ethnic heritage based on Judaism (Jew). “

Hitler did not agree. It made no difference if a person he termed a "Jew" did not practice Judaism. Rather, his definition of a Jew was merely based upon blood lines and physical appearance. As part of his methods of creating a division between what he termed "Aryans" and "Jews", Hitler instituted the Nuremberg Race Laws which included "'The Law for the Protection of German Blood and German Honor' (regarding Jewish marriage), 'The Reich Citizenship Law' (designating Jews as subjects), and 'The Law for the Protection of the Genetic Health of the German People,' which required all persons wanting to marry to submit to a medical examination, after which a 'Certificate of Fitness to Marry' would be issued if they were found to be disease free. The certificate was required in order to get a marriage license (The Nuremberg Race Laws)."

 Instructional chart used to "help distinguish Jews from Mischlinge (Germans of mixed race) and Aryans. The white figures represent Aryans; the black figures represent Jews; and the shaded figures represent Mischlinge (The Nuremberg Race Laws)."

Regrettably, it did not stop there...

Return to Jews home page or continue on and read about The Price Paid for Being Different