Nazi treatment of " Mischlinge" [those with a degree of Jewish ancestry]

Aediles Posts : 59 Join date : 2021-09-10

From its foundation in 1920 The National Socialist Party considered the Jews as a threat to the “purity of German blood” Just over two years after Adolf Hitler coming to power in January 1933, the Nazis introduced their Race legislation [Nuremberg Laws] in September 1935, they created a racial category called “ Mischlinge” or “mixed race” for Germans of partial Jewish descent. There were different classifications of Mischlinge depending on how much Jewish blood a person possessed, a full Jew had three or more grandparents, a Mischlinge First Degree[ a half Jew] had two Jewish grandparents, a Mischlinge Second Degree [ a quarter Jew] had one Jewish grandparent.

While the Nazi legislation defined who a Mischlinge was ,what was the regime's policy towards them, and how was it enforced? Well Nazi policy towards Mischlinge was inconsistent and alternated between persecution, semi-toleration, and racial reclassification, therefore Mischlinge consequently lived anxious and tumultuous lives.

At the Wannsee Conference of 1942, it was agreed that half-Jews should be treated as full Jews, while Mischlinge married to Germans with Aryan blood should be exempted from being treated as Jews, so the inconsistency of Nazi policy continued, they existed in a grey area between the racial categories of “ Jewish” and “Aryan”

The Nazi policy regarding Mischlinge soldiers was a maze of confusion and contradictions, they either persecuted or tolerated them based on their perceived loyalty and importance to the regime, despite their Jewish ancestry, half-Jews and quarter-Jews were legally allowed to serve in the German military until 1940, however they were forbidden to become none-commisioned officers or officers without the personal approval of Hitler. The Nazis saw Mischlinge as useful for their military goals, but refused to treat them as equals, however Mischlinge soldiers were treated better than their Jewish parents, who lost their jobs and civil liberties.due to Nazi race laws.

The Nazis considered Mischlinge possessed some Aryan blood and could therefore serve the Reich, while Hitler eventually decided to expel all half-Jews [Second Degree Mischlinge] from the Germam military in 1940, he made a number of exceptions, personally signing thousands of special permission forms that allowed half-Jews that had proven themselves in battle to remain with their units, Hitler favoured veteran half-Jewish soldiers, as their extensive service demonstrated their loyalty to the regime.

The decisions about a persons racial descent could have severe consequences, designated as an Aryan resulted in one's safety, while being designated as a Jew resulted in one's death in a concentration camp, the situation for Mischlinge remained fraught, the category of Mischlinge was fluid and ambiguous, and its meaning often changed depending on the individual Nazi official who interpreted it, some saw Mischlinge associated with the Aryan side of the racial spectrum, while others saw Mischlinge and Jews as identical.

Summing up, the inconsistency of the Nazis towards Mischlinge reflected their ambiguous status in the Third Reich, for the Nazis Mischlige were members of a contradictory and perplexing racial category, a bizarre mix of the superior race and the inferior race, Nazi policy towards them was somewhat muddled.

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Nazi treatment of " Mischlinge" [those with a degree of Jewish ancestry]

Nazi treatment of " Mischlinge" [those with a degree of Jewish ancestry]

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