Dates to Remember

15/09/1935: Introduction of the Nuremberg Laws

On 15 September 1935, laws were announced to the German Reichstag at a Nazi party rally in Nuremberg.

‘The Law for the Protection of German Blood and German Honour’ prohibited marriage between Jews and non-Jews, sexual relations between Jews and non-Jews and the employment of German women under the age of 45 in Jewish households. Jews were also forbidden to display the national flag or Reich colours.

The punishment for failure to adhere to these controls ranged from fines and imprisonment to hard labour.

The ‘Reich Citizenship Law’ specifically defined a Jew as someone with three or four Jewish grandparents and did not take into account the religious beliefs or practices of individuals.

This law specifically stated that only those of German or ‘kindred’ blood were citizens and that only citizens were able to enjoy full political rights.

The Nuremberg Laws were not the first anti-Jewish legislation to be introduced – Jews had already been subject to laws which barred them from working for the government or serve in the army.

Further laws were introduced including those which banned Jewish businesses receiving government contracts and stopping Jewish children attending public schools.

The Nuremberg Laws marked the start of a wave of anti-semitic legislation and action which acted as the first steps in the Holocaust and the murder of six million Jews.

You can find out more about:

The Holocaust

Nazi policies of hatred