Antisemitism in pre-WW II Nazi Germany

Antisemitism, or extreme prejudice against Jewish people, was a foundational element of Nazi ideology and a central feature of the Nazi regime. The Nazis, drawing on centuries of anti-Jewish sentiment, promoted a virulent form of racial antisemitism, falsely defining Jews as a separate and inferior race posing a threat to Germany and the purported Aryan "master race". 

Nazi Germany defined Jews by ancestry, not religion, meaning anyone with three or four Jewish grandparents was considered Jewish regardless of their religious affiliation. Nazi propaganda blamed Jewish people for Germany's economic hardships and defeat in World War I, using posters, newspapers, films, and radio addresses to spread their hateful messages.

When the Nazis came to power in 1933, they quickly implemented an escalating series of discriminatory actions. The Nuremberg Laws of 1935 revoked German citizenship and civil rights for Jewish people, including the prohibition of marriage to non-Jews. Germany also declared boycotts on Jewish businesses, dismissed Jewish people from civil service jobs, and restricted access to professions and education. Initially, Jewish business owners were strongly “encouraged” to sell their businesses and property, the process of “Aryanization.” By 1938, roughly two-thirds of Jewish-owned businesses were either sold, at huge discounts to their value, or closed down.

In Girl in the Glass, the Clypeate arrives in Germany several months after Kristallnacht. As they pass through the German homeland, Declan notices a storefront with smashed windows:

A large sign draped across and painted in bright red letters, “Kauft nicht bei Juden.” He hoped the shop owner was safe and long gone from this place, snapping him back into the reality of the dangers simmering beneath the calm.

Declan is witnessing the aftermath of Kristallnacht, November 9-10, 1938. Known in English as the "Night of Broken Glass," this Nazi-sponsored, widespread violence against Jewish people led to injuries, murders, and destruction of Jewish-owned property.

Graffiti warning against shopping at Jewish stores

Multiple slurs. “Kauft night bei Juden” is a warning about Jewish-owned stores. “Auf nach Jerusalem” is telling Jewish people to go back to Jerusalem.

Destruction on Kristallnacht and the aftermath