The Jews were persecuted by the Nazis economically, politically and socially. Economically, they were displaced by ‘aryan Germans’ for jobs, and lost their shops because the German people were encouraged to boycott. This meant that they became disregarded by unemployment figures, and had to fight to stay alive. In 1933, new German laws forced Jews out of their civil service jobs, university and law court positions, and other areas of public life. Politically, the Jewish people were removed from German citizenship. These Nuremberg Laws defined Jews, not by their religion or by how they wanted to identify themselves, but by the religious affiliation of their grandparents. This also fed into Social factors; Between 1937 and 1939, new anti-Jewish regulations segregated Jews further and made daily life very difficult for them. Jews could not attend public schools; go to theaters, cinema, or vacation resorts; or reside or even walk in certain sections of German cities. The Jewish people were made to identify themselves with the star of david, thus causing them to be easily ostracized by the community. In 1938, Kristallnacht, thousands of Jewish shops and synagogues were smashed by the SA.
Why were the Jews persecuted by the Nazis?
The Nazi party needed a group of people to hate in order to establish loyalty to the party; they needed scapegoats. Since Anti-semitism already existed in the 19th century, this made Jews an easy target for the Nazis as they would just be voicing what many people already felt. Many Jews were seen to be economically well off and held more important positions in comparison to many German citizens in the aftermath of WW1 and hyperinflation. They accused the Jewish people of sabotage, and of selfishness, adding oil to the fire of anti-semitism. These factors combined with the Nazi ideology of a ‘pure aryan race’ (which did not include the Jewish people). They viewed the Jewish people as a massive waste