1930-1933: Jews and the lack of conversation in Northeim?

Why did Anti-semitism spread so rapidly in Germany with the rise of Hitler? This question has always bothered me because the simple answer would be, “because they are different.” However that is not the case as we discussed in class, from our readings, and research done over the years in other classes.

Religion, Nationalism and Race all played a big role in the persecution of Jews during Hitler’s reign. The country was looking for someone to blame after the “betrayal” by leadership during World War 1. The economy was in shambles and the blame that Germany had to take for the cause of World War 1 was on the minds of the countries people. Hitler used this to his advantage to promote “extreme Anti-Semitism”[1] to give those a reason for why there was so much despair.

However as we read in William Sheridan Allen’s book, The Nazi Seizure of Power, we see that the Nazi party did something very different in the years from 1930-1933 in Northeim, Germany. The Jews were only brought up during their meetings in these years four times[2]. Why did the Nazi party decided to take a back seat to spreading their anti-Semitic ideology? Was this a political strategy by the party to secure votes, and allow them to gain more power among the people of Northeim?

I truly believe that the Nazi party felt that it was in their best interest to subdue their anti-Semitic redirect in order to gain the trust from the people even though many had anti-Semitic views to begin with. I also think that this was a great political strategy by the Nazi party to secure the votes of the Northeim people. This website that I found, http://research.calvin.edu/german-propaganda-archive/ww2era.htm, shows that in 1933 and beyond you see many of the anti-Semitic speeches and propaganda for the Nazi government really spread. It is very interesting to see such change from the beginning of 1930 to the mid and late 1930’s through the 1940’s. What are some of your thoughts on this topic?

The picture I found on the website http://research.calvin.edu/german-propaganda-archive/ws.htm says “National Socialism is the guarantee of victory.” The site is maintained by Randall Bytwerk, Professor Emeritus, Calvin College and the page design was done by Rob Veenstra. This has some great information for anyone looking for information on their research paper.

[1] Spielvogel, Jackson J. Redles, David. Hitler and Nazi-Germany: A History. Pearson, 7th Edition. 2014. p. 29.

[2] Allen, William Sheridan. The Nazi Seizure of Power. Franklin Watts, Inc. New York. 1984. p. 322.

picture- http://research.calvin.edu/german-propaganda-archive/ws.htm