In nazi germany.. How did they tell the difference between a jew, or gentile?

Question

Are the racial characteristics that pronounced? I wouldve thought that many jews would natuarally perpetrate the identity of a non jewish person as a means of survival.

Answer 1

every German citizen had to prove their lineage and background. That was how they weeded them out so you could not hide.

I did hear a story though on Krystal Nacht some Germans went into an older couple home to arrest him and he went to his desk drawer and opened it and the Nazis of course aimed their weapons to fire but he suddenly turned and produced an Iron Cross he had won in WWI. he said, is this what i get for defending my homeland? they shock on the nazi lt in charge was so deepening that this jew had won an Iron Cross they left and did not arrest them. this gave them a chance to leave before the war started and they lived.

It was a terrible time period.

Answer 2

People's cultural differences don't stand out much in today's world; however, back then Jewish people stood out through their customs, practices, and decorations. Everyone also knew who was Catholic and who was Protestant (absence from church was generally noticed.) In a nutshell, everyone already knew which families were Jewish and which were Christian. During the depression, Germany was also going through a progressive liberal social change where people were open about who they were and what they believed, including homosexuals (this ironically led to the rise of the Nazis, in part because so many political parties existed, so no one got the majority in an election--Hilter won by a small plurality.) So that only made it more obvious who was who (but people already had pent up resentment for Jews unfortunately.)

There in fact were Jews that hid within the ranks of Nazis just to survive or escape. There was supposed "studies" to single out racial attributes of Jews, but it had very little scientific basis. One thing though, Germans weren't normally circumcised, so being that military service was mandatory, a Jew would be found out in the shower room.

A VERY fine movie was made a the true story of a German Jewish boy who not only tried to hide his ethnicity but actually fought in both the Russian communist and (ironically) later the Nazi sides. There's some amazing real twists in this story which I shouldn't give away, so go rent it, it's called EUROPA EUROPA.

Answer 3

It had a lot to do with your ancestors. The Nazis considered "Jewishness" to be a genetic trait, which meant that you couldn't become not Jewish by renouncing your faith. I think there was some sort of watermark such as, 'if both your grandmothers were Jews then you are one.' I don't remember if that was the actual test but I believe it was something very similar. Hope this clarifies matters a little.

Answer 4

Mainly with documents. There were some Jews who were able to conceal their identity with false documents, but you know for an ordinary person it's hard to assume another identity. You need connections for that. Just imagine yourself in that situation that you'd have to assume another identity when all the official agencies are after you to know your real one. There were records kept about the religion of people, and the Nazis just had to check these documents to find out who had Jewish ancestors. Everyone who had at least three Jewish grandparents was counted as a Jew.

Denunciations were also a factor. The Nazis were not a tiny minority but there were lots of antisemites who denounced Jews with assumed identity if they knew.

So in order to be able to survive concealing their identity, Jews did not only need false documents, but also had to make sure not to meet anyone who knew them as long as they couldn't absolutely trust this person. So it was necessary to go to another town, to make up another biography without contradictions, etc.

Since 1941, when the Yellow Stars were introduced in Germany, Jews also risked a lot by going outside without it, because in case someone identified and denounced them they would be punished. But I've heard of a few who risked that.

You also have to keep in mind that it wasn't clear for most people from the beginning that the Nazis planned to kill all Jews anyway. The Yellow Stars were introduced before the deportations to the death camps started. So at that time, most Jews thought that as long as they obeyed all laws against them, their lives would be spared. They thought they might rather be killed for illegally trying to conceal their identity than simply for being Jewish.

By the way you asked only about Germany but keep in mind that most of the Jewish Holocaust victims were not from Germany but from occupied countries.

Answer 5

Most Jew's would not renounce their religion, so if they were asked if they were Jewish they would say yes. There are many that hid, and some that did renounce, but their neighbors and people who knew them would turn them in to the SS, and they would be taken as well. They also moved all the Jews into the ghetto at first before sending them to the concentration camps, this way they knew where almost all of them were at and could send them all to one place before the "final solution".

Answer 6

From before the Nazi period, it was on your identity card and in the municipal record whether you were Jewish or not.

Answer 7

I can add nothing to what has been written above. I just came here to congratulate my fellow history buffs on such a good job.

This category generally has good questions and fine answers. I have tried the POLITICS and GOVERNMENT/POLITICS site and find it full of nastiness and vituperation. Thanks for providing a lonely spot of rational discourse.

Answer 8

those suspected of Jewishness were required to present a genealogy to authorities.

Answer 9

foreskins. The jews have theirs removed