The Nuremberg Laws classified anyone
with one or more Jewish grandparents as Jewish, and deprived all Jews of citizenship.
Scores of Jews left the country, sacrificing everything in order to leave Germany. They
were the fortunate ones. After the assassination of a German diplomat in Paris by a
young Jewish boy who was trying to strike out at persecution, a well organized night of
violence and vandalism erupted, known as Krystallnacht, ("Crystal
Night," or "the night of broken glass.") Windows were smashed, shops looted, homes and
synagogues destroyed. German Jews were arrested and made to pay for the damage. Although
many Germans were opposed to Nazi outrages against Jews, most either went along or
looked the other way.
Under the Nuremberg laws, persons
determined to be Jewish were not allowed to teach or practice any profession. Sexual
relations between Jews and non Jews was unlawful. Jews were prohibited from displaying
the national flag, but were required to wear a Judenstern, or
Jewish star, indicating their status. This was a major step in the National Socialist
plan to eliminate Jewish influence from Germany.
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