Law for the Restoration of the Professional Civil Service
Encyclopedia
The Law for the Restoration of the Professional Civil Service (in German
: Gesetz zur Wiederherstellung des Berufsbeamtentums or short: Berufsbeamtengesetz), also known as Civil Service Law, Civil Service Restoration Act, and Law to Re-establish the Civil Service, was a law passed by the National Socialist
regime on April 7, 1933, two months after Adolf Hitler
attained power.
This law re-established a "national" civil service and allowed tenure
d civil servants to be dismissed. Further, civil servants who were not of "Aryan
descent" as well as opponents of the Nazi regime ("Civil servants whose previous political activities afford no assurance that they will at all times give their fullest support to the national state") were forced to retire from the civil service. This meant that Jews and political opponents could not serve as teacher
s, professor
s, judge
s, or other government positions. Shortly after, a similar law was passed concerning lawyer
s, doctor
s, tax consultants, and notaries
.
As the law was first drafted by the Interior Minister Wilhelm Frick
, all those of "non-Aryan descent" were to be fired immediately at the Reich, Länder and municipal levels of government. However, the President of Germany, Paul von Hindenburg
objected to the bill until it had been amended to exclude three classes of civil servants from the ban:
Hitler agreed to these amendments and the bill was signed into law on April 7, 1933. In practice, the amendments excluded most Jewish civil servants and not until after Hindenburg’s death in 1934, were they disallowed. Nonetheless, the passage of the “Law for a Restoration of a Professional Civil Service” in 1933 was a crucial turning point in the history of German Jewry for this law marked the first time since the last of the German Jews had been emancipated
in 1871 that an anti-Semitic
law had been passed in Germany.
Political opponents of national socialism ("Officials who, on account of their past political activities cannot guarantee that they have always acted wholeheartedly for the national state") should either be forced into retirement or let go from their jobs.
Moreover, civil servants should be let go if they started their jobs after 1918 and are unable to demonstrate that they acquired all the training necessary for their careers. These people were called "membership book officials (Parteibuch-Beamte)" in the language of National Socialist propaganda.
According to § 3 (1) of the "First Ordinace for the accomplishment of the Law for the Restoration of the Professional Civil Service," "officials without arian heritage" were those who had even just one Jewish grandparent (in contrast to the way the Nuremberg Laws of 1935 regarded such people, as "quarter-jews ("Vierteljuden")). They could not be let go or prematurely forced into retirement. According to § 3 (2), however, "un-arian" officials should be left in their positions if they had occupied those positions since a date before August 1914. Those Jewish civil servants who had a son or father who had been killed in the First World War were also spared from being sacked. This loophole also applied to "Frontkämpfer" (Front-line soldiers) (see Frontkämpferprivileg). All persons in the civil service would have to be able to produce the Ariernachweis (proof of Arian ancestry) in order to prove that they had no ancestors of the Jewish faith. The loophole was closed by the Nuremberg Laws. Jewish civil servants still holding their posts were given notice by 31 December 1935 at the latest.
According to § 6 of the law, civil servants could be forced into retirement without cause "for the simplification of administration". The vacant positions created by this action were not to be refilled.
In rapid succession numerous regulations were dispensed with, as well as many employees and laborers in civil service as well as in the Reichsbank.
Pensions were not allowed for all groups of people forced into the ranks of pensioners by this law. The guaranteed old-age pension was reduced in 1938 by the "Siebente Verordnung zum Reichsbürgergesetz".
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
: Gesetz zur Wiederherstellung des Berufsbeamtentums or short: Berufsbeamtengesetz), also known as Civil Service Law, Civil Service Restoration Act, and Law to Re-establish the Civil Service, was a law passed by the National Socialist
National Socialist German Workers Party
The National Socialist German Workers' Party , commonly known in English as the Nazi Party, was a political party in Germany between 1920 and 1945. Its predecessor, the German Workers' Party , existed from 1919 to 1920...
regime on April 7, 1933, two months after Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
attained power.
This law re-established a "national" civil service and allowed tenure
Tenure
Tenure commonly refers to life tenure in a job and specifically to a senior academic's contractual right not to have his or her position terminated without just cause.-19th century:...
d civil servants to be dismissed. Further, civil servants who were not of "Aryan
Aryan
Aryan is an English language loanword derived from Sanskrit ārya and denoting variously*In scholarly usage:**Indo-Iranian languages *in dated usage:**the Indo-European languages more generally and their speakers...
descent" as well as opponents of the Nazi regime ("Civil servants whose previous political activities afford no assurance that they will at all times give their fullest support to the national state") were forced to retire from the civil service. This meant that Jews and political opponents could not serve as teacher
Teacher
A teacher or schoolteacher is a person who provides education for pupils and students . The role of teacher is often formal and ongoing, carried out at a school or other place of formal education. In many countries, a person who wishes to become a teacher must first obtain specified professional...
s, professor
Professor
A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...
s, judge
Judge
A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as part of a panel of judges. The powers, functions, method of appointment, discipline, and training of judges vary widely across different jurisdictions. The judge is supposed to conduct the trial impartially and in an open...
s, or other government positions. Shortly after, a similar law was passed concerning lawyer
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
s, doctor
Physician
A physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...
s, tax consultants, and notaries
Notary public
A notary public in the common law world is a public officer constituted by law to serve the public in non-contentious matters usually concerned with estates, deeds, powers-of-attorney, and foreign and international business...
.
As the law was first drafted by the Interior Minister Wilhelm Frick
Wilhelm Frick
Wilhelm Frick was a prominent German Nazi official serving as Minister of the Interior of the Third Reich. After the end of World War II, he was tried for war crimes at the Nuremberg Trials and executed...
, all those of "non-Aryan descent" were to be fired immediately at the Reich, Länder and municipal levels of government. However, the President of Germany, Paul von Hindenburg
Paul von Hindenburg
Paul Ludwig Hans Anton von Beneckendorff und von Hindenburg , known universally as Paul von Hindenburg was a Prussian-German field marshal, statesman, and politician, and served as the second President of Germany from 1925 to 1934....
objected to the bill until it had been amended to exclude three classes of civil servants from the ban:
- World War IWorld War IWorld War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
veterans who had served at the front - those who had been in the civil service continuously since 1 August 1914 (i.e. since the start of the War)
- those who lost a father or son in combat in the Great War
Hitler agreed to these amendments and the bill was signed into law on April 7, 1933. In practice, the amendments excluded most Jewish civil servants and not until after Hindenburg’s death in 1934, were they disallowed. Nonetheless, the passage of the “Law for a Restoration of a Professional Civil Service” in 1933 was a crucial turning point in the history of German Jewry for this law marked the first time since the last of the German Jews had been emancipated
Political emancipation
Emancipation is a broad term used to describe various efforts to obtain political rights or equality, often for a specifically disenfranchised group, or more generally in discussion of such matters...
in 1871 that an anti-Semitic
Anti-Semitism
Antisemitism is suspicion of, hatred toward, or discrimination against Jews for reasons connected to their Jewish heritage. According to a 2005 U.S...
law had been passed in Germany.
Content
(The following is translated from the German version of this page.)Political opponents of national socialism ("Officials who, on account of their past political activities cannot guarantee that they have always acted wholeheartedly for the national state") should either be forced into retirement or let go from their jobs.
Moreover, civil servants should be let go if they started their jobs after 1918 and are unable to demonstrate that they acquired all the training necessary for their careers. These people were called "membership book officials (Parteibuch-Beamte)" in the language of National Socialist propaganda.
According to § 3 (1) of the "First Ordinace for the accomplishment of the Law for the Restoration of the Professional Civil Service," "officials without arian heritage" were those who had even just one Jewish grandparent (in contrast to the way the Nuremberg Laws of 1935 regarded such people, as "quarter-jews ("Vierteljuden")). They could not be let go or prematurely forced into retirement. According to § 3 (2), however, "un-arian" officials should be left in their positions if they had occupied those positions since a date before August 1914. Those Jewish civil servants who had a son or father who had been killed in the First World War were also spared from being sacked. This loophole also applied to "Frontkämpfer" (Front-line soldiers) (see Frontkämpferprivileg). All persons in the civil service would have to be able to produce the Ariernachweis (proof of Arian ancestry) in order to prove that they had no ancestors of the Jewish faith. The loophole was closed by the Nuremberg Laws. Jewish civil servants still holding their posts were given notice by 31 December 1935 at the latest.
According to § 6 of the law, civil servants could be forced into retirement without cause "for the simplification of administration". The vacant positions created by this action were not to be refilled.
In rapid succession numerous regulations were dispensed with, as well as many employees and laborers in civil service as well as in the Reichsbank.
Pensions were not allowed for all groups of people forced into the ranks of pensioners by this law. The guaranteed old-age pension was reduced in 1938 by the "Siebente Verordnung zum Reichsbürgergesetz".
Related Ordinances
- 11 April 1933 – First Ordinance on the Implementation of the Law for the Restoration of the Professional Civil Service
- 25 April 1933 – Law against the Overcrowding of German Schools and Universities
- 6 May 1933 – Third Ordinance on the Implementation of the Law for the Restoration of the Professional Civil Service
- 21 January 1935 – Law on the Retirement and Transfer of Professors as a Result of the Reorganization of the German System of Higher Education
See also
- Aryan certificateAryan certificateIn Nazi Germany, the Aryan certificate was a document which certified that a person was a member of the Aryan race. Beginning in April 1933 it was required from all employees and officials in the public sector, including education, according to the Law for the Restoration of the Professional...
AhnentafelAhnentafelAn ahnentafel or ahnenreihe is a genealogical numbering system for listing a person's direct ancestors in a fixed sequence of ascent...
, AhnenpassAhnenpassThe Ahnenpaß documented the Aryan lineage of citizens of Nazi Germany. It was one of the forms of the Aryan certificate ....
to prove Aryan descent - Racial policy of Nazi GermanyRacial policy of Nazi GermanyThe racial policy of Nazi Germany was a set of policies and laws implemented by Nazi Germany, asserting the superiority of the "Aryan race", and based on a specific racist doctrine which claimed scientific legitimacy...
- Inciting subversion of state powerInciting subversion of state powerInciting subversion of state power is a crime under the law of the People's Republic of China. It is article 105, paragraph 2 of the 1997 revision of the People's Republic of China's Penal Code....
(Chinese law) - Article 58 (RSFSR Penal Code)Article 58 (RSFSR Penal Code)Article 58 of the Russian SFSR Penal Code was put in force on 25 February 1927 to arrest those suspected of counter-revolutionary activities. It was revised several times...
(Soviet Russia) - Espionage Act of 1917Espionage Act of 1917The Espionage Act of 1917 is a United States federal law passed on June 15, 1917, shortly after the U.S. entry into World War I. It has been amended numerous times over the years. It was originally found in Title 50 of the U.S. Code but is now found under Title 18, Crime...
, Rex 84Rex 84Rex 84, short for Readiness Exercise 1984, was a secretive "scenario and drill" developed by the United States federal government to suspend the United States Constitution, declare martial law, place military commanders in charge of state and local governments, and detain large numbers of American...
(US)
External links
- Robertson, Struan. "The Jewish Community in Hamburg 1860-1943". Retrieved September 25, 2005.
- Law for the Restoration of the Professional Civil Service, April 7, 1933 in English
- German original of the text
- Berufsbeamtengesetz from German-language Wikipedia. Retrieved September 25, 2005.