MARCH 1933

SA REIGN OF TERROR AGAINST JEWS THROUGHOUT GERMANY

The SA (Storm Troopers) attack Jewish-owned department stores in German cities in an attempt to segregate Jews from the rest of society. Local police, not yet under Nazi control, unsuccessfully attempt to stop the attacks. Members of the SA continue the rampage and enter courtrooms, dragging Jewish lawyers and judges into the streets where they are subjected to humiliating public acts. These attacks are publicized by international Jewish organizations and the press, which urge a boycott of German goods. In response, the Nazi government organizes a nationwide boycott of Jewish businesses in Germany, blaming Jews for anti-German tone of the international press.

APRIL 1, 1933

NATIONWIDE BOYCOTT OF JEWISH-OWNED BUSINESSES

At 10:00 a.m., SA and SS members stand in front of Jewish-owned businesses throughout Germany to inform the public that the proprietors of these establishments are Jewish. The word "Jude," German for "Jew," is often smeared on store display windows, with a Star of David painted in yellow and black across the doors. Anti-Jewish signs accompany these slogans. In some towns, the SA marches through the streets singing anti-Jewish slogans and party songs. In other towns, violence accompanies the boycott; in Kiel, a Jewish lawyer is killed. The official boycott ends at midnight.

APRIL 7, 1933

LAW DISMISSES JEWS FROM CIVIL SERVICE

The Nazi government enacts the Law for the Restoration of the Professional Civil Service. This law seeks to exclude those considered to be opponents of the Nazi state--Jews and political opponents. As a result, civil service employees are forced to prove their "Aryan" descent by documenting the religion of their parents and grandparents. If unable to do so, they are dismissed from service. Hitler reluctantly concedes to President Paul von Hindenburg's demand to exempt from dismissal those civil servants who are veterans of World War I or whose close relatives had fallen in that conflict. Similar laws passed in the following weeks affect Jewish lawyers, judges, doctors, and teachers.