The Nazi implemented a number of policies that were detrimental to the wellbeing of the Jews. In 1933, the Nazi began a policy of discrimination against the Jews living in Germany. The military wing of the Nazi Party, the Storm Troopers (SA) enforced boycotts of Jewish businesses while the government stopped them from working in the education and legal institutions. In 1935 the Nazi implemented a policy that restricted Jews from serving in the national armed forces and enacted the Nuremberg Laws which denied the Jews the rights that other German citizens enjoyed. In 1938, the government issued ID cards for the Jews and forced them to use their Jewish Surnames for easy identification.
In 1938, the government implemented a policy of racial expulsion that was meant to remove all the Jews from Germany. When the Nazi occupied Poland in 1939, the policy of emigration could not be carried out since the Polish Jews represented a significant portion of the population. By the start of the Second World War in 1939, the Nazi regime was seeking a final solution to what it considered to be “the Jewish Problem”.
Anti-Semitism was one of the key ideologies adopted by the Nazi Party from its formation in 1919. The Nazi were convinced that the once strong Aryan race had been weakened by mixing with other races. The Jews were singled out as the race that had led to the decline of the German society.
Nazi leaders proposed that Germany could only be restored to its previous prestige and power if it got rid of the Jewish community living in the country. Due to the anti-Semitism ideology, the Nazi regime was able to carry engage in the persecution of German Jews immediately after Hitler took power. The ideology led to the issuing of hundreds of decrees that were aimed at segregating the Jews and eventually expelling them from Germany.
The Jewish began to experienced violence as soon as Hitler’s Nazi Party took power in 1933. The Nazi Regime had anti-Semitic ideologies and it encouraged violence against the Jews. However, the Nazi opted to use legislation in addition to the anti-Jewish violence. The legislation option was taken since it enabled the government to justify its discriminative action against a segment of its population. Legislation provided the government with an excuse to carry out oppressive action against the Jewish community.
Through legislation, the Nazi Regime was able to carry out the large scale persecution of the Jewish community with the support and even collaboration of most of the German population. The legal restrictions were imposed on Jews and other groups of the society that were considered to be inferior. These restrictions were in line with the Nazi ideology that the Aryan race was superior to the other races. To keep the Aryan race pure and strong, the restrictions discriminated against the mentally and physically disabled. By engaging in eugenics, the Nazi regime hoped to create a superior race.
Nazi anti-Jewish policy got progressively worse from 1933. At the beginning, the Jews suffered from limited violence and they were able to live and work in the country. However, as the policies got worse, the Jews were prevented from working in certain institutions and their ability to conduct business was curtailed. Their citizenship rights were dissolved leaving them vulnerable to more persecution. The European Jews adopted a strategy of emigration to escape from Nazi persecution.
At the onset, the Nazi Regime encouraged the Jews to leave the country. However, over the years, the government started imposing policies that were aimed at restricting Jewish movement. High taxes were imposed on Jews who sought to leave the country making it hard for many to escape. In 1941, the government officially banned Jewish emigration leaving many trapped in the country.