History of the Holocaust Relations between Germans and Jews from middle ages 1914 Is the holocaust a result of German Culture Jewish German territory since roman emporia Laws defined Jews o These laws clearly draw social and economical lines between Jews and non Jews These laws defined where Jews could live what Jews could do and how they could earn their living o They placed restrictions on Jews economic activity for example Prohibiting Jews from owning land o Jews had to pay certain taxes o These laws defined how Jews could govern themselves o Gave Jews the right to practice religion o Labeling Jews had to wear a hat or have a physical mark on their clothing yellow circle to indicate they were Jewish o Jugengasse the street Jews lived on there were no side streets Jew alley o There were random periods where peaceful code was punctuated by violence 1600 1700 o Early 1600 Europeans fought wars about religion Many Jews expelled and went to areas such as Poland but after the wars they started to migrate back to Europe When the Jews came back and resettles they did so at the sufferance of Christian rule Each Christian state had a prince the prince would decide whether they wanted Jews to live in their state and they could set a quota This was a period in time when the power of the church was going down and the power of princes and kings was going up o Jews play a particular role in state building process Christians were not allowed to charge interest on loans but Jews were Jews were the moneylenders Jews were not allowed to sell new goods but they would sell used goods Ex buys and sell livestock sell used clothing New Opportunities in the sales of good and the market opened up to Jews 75 of German Jews ware peddlers they would go door to door selling different things In1614 there was a riot in Frankfurt plundering the Jugengasse o In addition to peddlers there were Court Jews Through personal connections they were able to get big loans necessary Rothschild 1744 1812 for the government to run These loans would fund operations of the state and allow the state to buy things on a big scale ex boots for soldiers They would engage in the buying and selling of good across the continent They were considered banking families wealthy money lenders Had an extraordinary privilege exert informal influence over princes Some families got persona exemption from the Jew laws Founder Mayer Amschel Rothschild of dynasty Got a position with a banking family made con acts and then returned to Frankfurt to start a business He developed a close relationship with the prince which helped him get involved with international business 5 sons all helped run this business in different financial spots of Europe Got code of arms from Austria and aristocrats Became a symbol for mysterious Jewish Power Late 1700 s Enlightenment New cultural and intellectual trend Enlightenment Main thrust many enlightenment philosophers began to question the role of religion and the laws passed that no longer seemed relevant In Germany a lot of philosophers talk about value of tolerance we should tolerate other religion In Germany the enlightenment is about making the state more powerful and efficient how can Jews be made into productive useful citizens This was about strengthening the state If you emancipate us they can become efficient members of society Tremendous Belief in education of all different facets of life People would act more wisely if they were better educated Being educated makes you a better person morally Moses Mendelssohn o Was the most important part of German jewish enlightenment o Enlightenment was in a sense an invitation to Jews to join the wider society and lead Jews out of the ghetto o He was a fierce critic of prejudice o Enlightenment forces hues to reshape or assimilate themselves into German culture Jews must change and German culture must change o Idea Judaism had to be modernized o Believed if the principles of enlightenment spread and both side s changes in accordance then over time these prejudices would fade away o Shaped the way German Jews in 1800 understood process Acculturation adapting Laws not rational they can change Must change the way Jews and Germans interact Example Adopt language around them no more Yiddish just German o By the 19th century no German Jews spoke Yiddish just modern German Changes in religious customs ways to makes it seem less different from the Christians around them o For different people practicing laws less strictly change the way you dress huge proliferation of kinds of newspaper and forums that debate Judaism in Germany o There is a real belief in the power of state to guarantee equality If German Jews are loyal to the state the state will be loyal back o Power of education embrace German Culture almost as a second religion o German Jews had a view of themselves middle class they were respectable and proper and expected to act in a certain way o Comfortable middle class home signifies you were a respectable German Jew Persistence of Anti Semitism o German Emperor Wilhelm II 1888 1918 o Symbol of powerful person threatened by new advances the German Jews were o Even though more opportunities are open there are still areas of society Jews were making not apart of Example Jews can t be members of the offices corps of German Army In any time of economic transformation there are winners and losers as social economic landscape transformation From a society dominated by agriculture to being dominated by society Example Artisans make handcrafts with new technology there is nothing for them to do Anti Semitism o Links things together to help understand forces you cannot see Jewish power jewish spirit jewish money o Anti Semitism becomes a cultural code a symbol that people used to understand forces of social cultural economic change Criticisms of the assimilated Jew o No matter how hard you try you will remain Jewish and are outside Jewish society o Jews are really pursuing their own interests at heart o The global jewish conspiracy cartoon o Picture of king Rothschild shows that Jewish capitalism and money is destroying traditional society Summary o By WWI 1914 over the course of 100 years German society has transformed Relations between Germans and Jews have changed Jews have political equality o New economic opportunities available to Jews Jews become solidly Middle class Overtime progress will advance equality and emancipation will advance Anti Semitism parties not