History of Blacks in Nazi Germany and the Holocaust
Encyclopedia
The treatment of blacks
in Nazi Germany
was generally indifferent. The main reason for this was the fluid, non-straightforward racial policies of the Nazis, which were influenced by daily politics, leading to complex and sometimes contradicting policies. The Nazi racial agenda considered blacks inferior to the Aryan race, but in reality they were often overlooked due to their low numbers when it came to actual implementation of government action and policies towards them. As result, blacks were generally far better treated than Jews
or Gypsies, and could live mostly somehow normal lives, including attending school and working.
On the other hand, despite the absence of an official systematic government stance, there were numerous instances of discrimination, crimes and murder against black people on a local level, influenced by the racial perceptions of the Nazis which were spread among the people and the general disregard of blacks over the whole world.
by 1937, with many facing compulsory sterilization
. Others became the victims of human experimentation
, assassination, or false imprisonment (including American citizens Valaida Snow
and Josef Nassy
), and some simply vanished. Black prisoners of war were sometimes killed outright or through the poor treatment they received in Nazi concentration
or prisoner-of-war camps, while others were worked to death.
The treatment of blacks in Nazi Germany was generally indifferent. The black race was deemed inferior to the Aryan race, but there was no official government policy implemented towards blacks, unlike against, for example, Jews. The same was true for encounters with or against blacks by the Wehrmacht. When engaging blacks in a larger number for the first time, the German soldiers perceived them as extremely foreign. German propaganda depicted black soldiers as animal savages, leading to extreme prejudices against them by German soldiers. German commanders in higher ranks did not implement or ordered any special treatment for them, but spoiled by the concepts of the "race war", several massacres occurred against black POW's, especially in the 1940 campaign in France. This happened especially to the darker people of Equatorial Africa, while the people from North-Africa with a ligher skin tone were more likly to be spared or treated as normal POWs.
On the other hand, a number of blacks served in the Wehrmacht. The number of German blacks was low, but there were some instances of them beeing enlisted within Nazi organisations like the HJ and later the Wehrmacht. In addition, there was an influx of volunteers during the African or Caucasian campaign, which led to the existence of a number of blacks in the Wehrmacht and SS in such units as the Free Arabian Legion.
Black people
The term black people is used in systems of racial classification for humans of a dark skinned phenotype, relative to other racial groups.Different societies apply different criteria regarding who is classified as "black", and often social variables such as class, socio-economic status also plays a...
in Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
was generally indifferent. The main reason for this was the fluid, non-straightforward racial policies of the Nazis, which were influenced by daily politics, leading to complex and sometimes contradicting policies. The Nazi racial agenda considered blacks inferior to the Aryan race, but in reality they were often overlooked due to their low numbers when it came to actual implementation of government action and policies towards them. As result, blacks were generally far better treated than Jews
Jews
The Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are a nation and ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...
or Gypsies, and could live mostly somehow normal lives, including attending school and working.
On the other hand, despite the absence of an official systematic government stance, there were numerous instances of discrimination, crimes and murder against black people on a local level, influenced by the racial perceptions of the Nazis which were spread among the people and the general disregard of blacks over the whole world.
The Holocaust
While black people in Nazi Germany and German-occupied territories were not subject to systematic elimination, they were victimized in diverse ways. Anti-black racism existed in Germany prior to the rise of the Nazi government, with mixed race children facing social and economic discrimination, and blacks became a target of Nazi eugenicsNazi eugenics
Nazi eugenics were Nazi Germany's racially-based social policies that placed the improvement of the Aryan race through eugenics at the center of their concerns...
by 1937, with many facing compulsory sterilization
Compulsory sterilization
Compulsory sterilization also known as forced sterilization programs are government policies which attempt to force people to undergo surgical sterilization...
. Others became the victims of human experimentation
Nazi human experimentation
Nazi human experimentation was a series of medical experiments on large numbers of prisoners by the Nazi German regime in its concentration camps mainly in the early 1940s, during World War II and the Holocaust. Prisoners were coerced into participating: they did not willingly volunteer and there...
, assassination, or false imprisonment (including American citizens Valaida Snow
Valaida Snow
Valaida Snow was an African American jazz musician and entertainer.She was born in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Raised on the road in a show-business family, she learned to play cello, bass, banjo, violin, mandolin, harp, accordion, clarinet, trumpet, and saxophone at professional levels by the time...
and Josef Nassy
Josef Nassy
Josef Nassy was a black expatriate artist of Jewish descent. Nassy was living in Belgium when World War II began, and was one of about 2,000 civilians holding American passports who were confined in German internment camps during the war....
), and some simply vanished. Black prisoners of war were sometimes killed outright or through the poor treatment they received in Nazi concentration
Nazi concentration camps
Nazi Germany maintained concentration camps throughout the territories it controlled. The first Nazi concentration camps set up in Germany were greatly expanded after the Reichstag fire of 1933, and were intended to hold political prisoners and opponents of the regime...
or prisoner-of-war camps, while others were worked to death.
Blacks and the armed forces
On the other hand, a number of blacks served in the Wehrmacht. The number of German blacks was low, but there were some instances of them beeing enlisted within Nazi organisations like the HJ and later the Wehrmacht. In addition, there was an influx of volunteers during the African or Caucasian campaign, which led to the existence of a number of blacks in the Wehrmacht and SS in such units as the Free Arabian Legion.
External links
- United States Holocaust Memorial Museum - Blacks during the Holocaust and exhibition for Black History Month