Commentary on the "Nuremberg Laws", Munich/Berlin, 1936

"Nuremberg Laws"

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In autumn 1935, another set of laws were introduced to underpin and intensify the persecution of the Jews. The Reichstag, the German Parliament, unanimously voted to pass the Nuremberg Laws to protect what was termed ‘racial purity’ and, at the same time, so-called ‘German blood’. These laws not only stripped German-Jews of their civil rights, but also prohibited marriages as well as so-called ‘extramarital relations’ between Jews and non-Jews. A regulatory statute defined just who was categorised as a Jew and to what extent this status was influenced by their descent. A person classified as a Volljude – a full Jew – had three or more Jewish grandparents. The person’s own religion was essentially irrelevant. Institutions such as the churches made it easy to check the family trees of individuals. When churches provided the parish registers, which included the baptismal registers, it was simple to determine if someone had given false information to protect themselves.

But even before the Nuremberg Laws were enacted, parts of the population were actively supporting open and brutal campaigns of discrimination. The photo postcard on the right from the small town of Norden in Eastern Friesland was taken in the summer before the Nuremberg Laws were passed. It is an example of how relations between Jews and non-Jews had long been publicly and violently pilloried and condemned – even without any legal basis.

The Nuremberg Laws themselves and a commentary on them were written by Wilhelm Stuckart, then State Secretary in the Ministry of the Interior. He was assisted by his co-worker Hans Maria Globke, After the war, Globke became Chief of Staff of the West German Chancellery under Chancellor Konrad Adenauer. Stuckart attended the meeting in this villa – and you’ll hear a little more about him in the next room.