Swastika In Germany

These early developing years of the Nazi party had turned the meaning of the Swastika into a symbol of “Aryan identity” and German national pride. This representation of the future Aryan race that Hitler was trying to create did not include the Jews, as well as several other minority groups, that he deemed unworthy or “unclean” to be a part of German society.
This twisted version of the Swastika, created by Hitler himself, “became associated with the idea of a racially ‘pure’ state. By the time the Nazis gained control of Germany, the connotations of the swastika had forever changed.” For those that did not fit into the category of being racially “pure,” or were not included in the development of the “Aryan race,” it became a symbol of fear
and oppression. In the same article mentioned above, it continues:
The swastika would become the most recognizable icon of Nazi propaganda, appearing on the flag referred to by Hitler in Mein Kampf as well as on election posters, arm bands, medallions, and badges for military and other organizations. A potent symbol intended to elicit pride among Aryans, the swastika also struck terror into Jews and others deemed enemies of Nazi Germany.

This was the first classification and division created by the Nazis that had begun the process of genocide. This was a crucial first step in ruling out the Jews as part of the “Aryan race,” and it only got easier to further separate the Jews into “us and them” categories.
Stage two is symbolization, where names or other such symbols are given to the classifications. In his examination of step two, Stanton mentions that, “We name people ‘Jews’… or distinguish them by colors or dress; and apply the symbols to members of groups… [and] when combined with hatred, symbols may be forced upon unwilling members of pariah groups: the yellow star for Jews under Nazi rule” This symbol, the Star of David, was a religious symbol used throughout Judaism. However, under Nazi rule it became a symbol of labeling and a cause for separation. As one can see, symbols were a large part of propaganda. The swastika was used to represent the Nazi party, while the Star of David was used to identify and represent the Jewish people residing in Germany. Not only were these symbols used for distinguishing and separation, but they also resembled class and rank, with Jews being inferior and Aryans being superior. And like the Nazi’s twisted the true meaning of the Swastika to fit their means of representing “racial purity,” they also twisted the religious meaning of the Star of David to something as derogatory as labeling individuals they deemed lesser than themselves.
Stage three is discrimination. This is where “a dominant group uses law, custom, and political power to deny the rights of other groups.” Stanton continues to say that “the powerless group may not be accorded full civil rights or even citizenship. One example of this includes the Nuremberg Laws of 1935 in Nazi Germany, which stripped Jews of their German citizenship, and prohibited their employment by the government and by universities.
The Nuremburg laws themselves are divided into two sections. The first section defines who a “Reich citizen” is and what right they have access to as a citizen. Section one follows:
Article 1
1) A subject of the state is a person who enjoys the protection of the German Reich and who in consequence has specific obligations toward it.
2) The status of subject of the state is acquired in accordance with the provisions of the Reich…
Article 2
1) A Reich citizen is a subject of the state who is of German or related blood, and proves by his conduct that he is willing and fit to faithfully serve the German people and Reich.
2) Reich citizenship is acquired through the granting of a Reich citizenship certificate. 3) The Reich citizen is the sole bearer of full political rights in accordance with the law.

In the continuation of the law in the Section II of the Nuremburg laws, it states:

Article 1
1) Marriages between Jews and subjects of the state of German or related blood are forbidden. Marriages nevertheless concluded are invalid, even if concluded abroad to circumvent this law. 2) Annulment proceedings can be initiated only by the state prosecutor.

In clarification of the above section two in Article one, even of an individual of Jewish decent and a deemed German Aryan were to be married outside of Germany, upon returning their marriage would not be recognized and would become invalid. The extent of this law was due to individuals who were attempting to sneak around the pogroms of anti Jewish and Aryan mixed marriages. Section II
continues,
Article 2
Extramarital relations between Jews and subjects of the state of German or related blood are forbidden.
Article 3
Jews may not employ in their household’s female subjects of the state of German or related blood who are under 45 years old.

A further interpretation of Article three can be seen as a perversion of Jewish men. Jewish men were often depicted as sexually voracious by the Nazi. In an attempt to emphasize this through law and to “prevent” it from happening, ladies that were younger than 45 were not allowed to be employed in Jewish homes. Regardless of whether a man was present or not. Article four of sections two states that,
1) Jews are forbidden to fly the Reich or national flag or display Reich colors. 2) They are, on the other hand, permitted to display the Jewish colors. The exercise of this right is protected by the state.

By reading Article four, one can interpret two things in particular. One, it forbade Jews to associate with the Reich or Nazi party by displaying their flag or the colors outside their homes or businesses. Two, by allowing them to display the “Jewish colors,” this allows the Reich to identify them as Jewish. This was particularly encouraged by the last sentence in section two of this article. Continuing on the last sections of Section II of the Nuremburg Laws, it states,
Article 5
1) Any person who violates the prohibition under Article 1 will be punished with a prison sentence. 2) A male who violates the prohibition under Article 2 will be punished with a jail term or a prison sentence. 3) Any person violating the provisions under Articles 3 or 4 will be punished with a jail term of up to one year and a fine, or with one or the other of these penalties…
Article 7
The law takes effect on the day following promulgation, except for Article 3, which goes into force on January 1, 1936.

This is a perfect example of Stanton’s stage three of genocide. Not only were the Jews stripped of their citizenship, but several laws were also forced upon them limiting or eliminated a variety of their rights completely, such as the right to intermarry with “Aryans.”
The image seen below titled “Die Nürnberger gesetze,” is one that was published during the same year the Nuremburg laws were passed. It was a identification chart to determine if one was Aryan or a Jew. The colored circles represent “Jewish blood” and the empty circles represent those of “Aryan blood” or lineage. After the passing of the Nuremburg laws, lineage charts, such as the one to the right, became more common among normal German society as people tried to distinguish who was a Jew and who was not. The four circles at the top represent the lineage of a person’s grandparents. Even with only one grandparent being of Jewish decent, whether their grandparents or the individual themselves practiced Judaism, an individual would still be considered “Jewish.” More towards the bottom of the various lineage charts are the words “verboten,” translated into Enlglish means “Forbidden,” further emphasizing the illegality between various intermarriages of “Aryans” and “Jews.” This destruction of citizenship and basic human rights such as intermarriage was the lead in to step number four of the stages of genocide.
Stage four is dehumanization, in which “one group denies the humanity of the other group.
Members of it are equated with animals, vermin, insects or diseases. Dehumanization overcomes the normal human revulsion against murder. At this stage, hate propaganda in print and on hate radios is used to vilify the victim group.” This step is one of the most prominently seen in the widespread propaganda created by the Nazi regime. There are several accounts of Nazi wording describing Jews as vermin, rats, and other unkindly rodents. This was accomplished through newspapers, posters, as well as radio broadcasts throughout
Germany.
One clear example of this is seen in the anti-Semitic children’s book called Der Giftpiltz, which