Not responding is a responsewe are equally responsible

Not responding is a responsewe are equally responsible for what we don't do. - Jonathan Safran Foer

Who is responsible? n n n A person who complied with the law excluding Jews from economic and social life A person who served as a concentration camp guard A worker in a plant making Zyklon B gas A teacher who taught Nazi propaganda The American government, which limited emigration of Jews into the U. S. in the 1930’s

Timeline of Anti-Jewish Legislation n 1920: 25 Point Program written by Nazi party publicly declares party intention to segregate Jews from "Aryan" society and to repeal Jews' political, legal, and civil rights n 1933 - 1939: more than 400 regulations restrict the lives of Jews in Germany- not all were national laws, regional and community laws are also enacted

Examples of Anti-Jewish Laws: 1933 -1939 1933 March 31 Decree of the Berlin city commissioner for health suspends Jewish doctors from the city’s charity services. April 7 Law for the Reestablishment of the Professional Civil Service removes Jews from government service. April 7 Law on the Admission to the Legal Profession forbids the admission of Jews to the bar. April 25 Law against Overcrowding in Schools and Universities limits the number of Jewish students in public schools. July 14 De-Naturalization Law revokes the citizenship of naturalized Jews and undesirables. October 4 Law on Editors bans Jews from editorial posts. 1935
May 21 Army law expels Jewish officers from the army. September 15 Nazi leaders announce the Nuremberg Laws.

1936
October 15 Reich Ministry of Education bans Jewish teachers from public schools. 1937
April 9 The Mayor of Berlin orders public schools not to admit Jewish children until further notice. 1938
January 5 Law on the Alteration of Family and Personal Names forbids Jews from changing their names. October 3 Decree on the Confiscation of Jewish Property regulates the transfer of assets from Jews to non-Jewish Germans. October 5 The Reich Interior Ministry invalidates all German passports held by Jews must surrender their old passports, which will become valid only after the letter J had been stamped on them. November 12 Decree on the Exclusion of Jews from German Economic Life closes all Jewish-owned businesses. November 15 Reich Ministry of Education expels all Jewish children from public schools. November 28 Reich Ministry of Interior restricts the freedom of movement of Jews. 1939
February 21 Decree Concerning the Surrender of Precious Metals and Stones in Jewish Ownership.

A person who complied with the law excluding Jews from economic and social life Imagine you were a non-Jewish citizen in Germany from 19331939 - how long would it take you to figure out what the ultimate goal of the Nazis was? If restrictions on Jews were placed at all levels of government- community, regional and federal- was there ever a point where German citizens COULD HAVE stopped the Nazi movement?

A person who served as a concentration camp guard • • • Each day boxcars arrived with thousands of Jews, political dissidents, etc Guards then separated the people into two groups - those who could work, and those to be killed Oversaw forced labor Oversaw medical experiments Oversaw gas chambers Executive orders to carry out murder You. Tube - Remembering the Horrors of Auschwitz

A worker in a plant making Zyklon B gas n Gas was originally used to fumigate for vermin in army barracks, ships, factories etc n By 1941, the two German firms, Tesch supplied two tons a month, and Degesch three quarters of a ton. n After the war, prosecutors found paperwork and letters confirming factory generals and firm owners offer to sell gas crystals for gassing of Jews, but also advising how to properly ventilate and heat the equipment. n. Tesch sold enough Zyklon B from 1941 to the end of the war to kill 2 million people

A teacher who taught Nazi propaganda n Sept. 1933: racial instruction is mandatory in all subjects - Jews no longer can be teachers n By 1936: 97% of teachers (over 300, 000 people) in Germany are members of National Socialist (Nazi) Teacher’s League attend conferences on instructing Nazi ideology and world view n Children were taught to read from anti. Semitic storybooks n 1938: Racial instruction must begin at age 6, all students leaving school must understand “blood purity” United States Holocaust Memorial Museum: Propaganda Teachers joined the Nazi party in greater number than ANY OTHER PROFESSION in Germany during the 1930’s.

The American government, which limited emigration of Jews into the U. S. in the 1930’s Requirements to Immigrate to U. S. in 1930's What message might this have sent to the Nazi power?

First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out - Because I was not a Socialist. Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out -- Because I was not a Trade Unionist. Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out -Because I was not a Jew. Then they came for me -- and there was no one left to speak for me. - MARTIN NIEMOLER, Protestant pastor, critic of Hitler, spent 7 years in concentration camp