Die NS-Judenverfolgung und die Kommunen: Zur wechselseitigen Dynamisierung von zentraler und lokaler Politik 1933-1941
In: Vierteljahrshefte für Zeitgeschichte, Volume 48, Issue 1, p. 75-126
ISSN: 0042-5702
In many accounts the way the persecution of the Jews was carried out appears inconsistent, indeed contradictory. The common practice in historical research till now has been to separate national and local policies. This article endeavours to combine the two by showing that Reichsgesetze between 1933-1938 were introduced primarily to facilitate the persecution of German Jews and that the interests of local officials determined what was actually done. A number of National Socialist mayors appointed in 1933 introduced anti-Jewish measures which went beyond political guidelines and the new laws promulgated by the government. At first such practices occurred at random, but soon the Gemeindetag, founded in 1933, sought contact with the ministries of the Reich and began to coordinate such actions as the expulsion of Jews from public swimming pools and other bathing facilities, as well as, the banning of Jewish business throughout the Reich. Although the National Socialist leadership condemned these "random acts" again and again, behind the scenes these initiatives undertaken by local authorities were supported. In short, local policies supplemented, indeed, replaced national policies. Till 1938, anti Jewish segregation at the municipal level provided the impetus for anti-Jewish government measures. After the November pogrom that year, however, the National Socialist leadership concluded that its expulsion policy had failed. Therefore, the decision was taken to shield the pauperized Jewish population from German society. Local authorities thereby lost their "innovative" role in creating separate Aryan/Jewish worlds. Within this framework of persecution, however, they did take over the responsibility for establishing ghettos for the Jews. (Vierteljahrshefte für Zeitgeschichte / FUB)