The Nuremberg Laws – two legislative acts that were racist and antisemitic in nature. The laws “On the Citizen of the Reich” and “On the Protection of German Blood and German Honor” were proclaimed on the initiative of A. Hitler on September 15, 1935, at the congress of the National Socialist Workers' Party of Germany in Nuremberg and unanimously adopted by the session of the Reichstag. According to the first law, a citizen of the Reich was considered a person who had German or related blood; thus, Jews were deprived of German citizenship but were considered subjects of the country. According to the second law, marriages and extramarital affairs between Jews and citizens of “German or related blood” were prohibited.
The Nuremberg Laws continued the Nazi policy of racial discrimination and xenophobia, which had begun with the Nazis coming to power in 1933. Since then, “non-Aryans” were deprived of the right to practice law and civil service, as well as to practice medicine; quotas were introduced for Jews in educational institutions, “racially inferior” citizens were exempted from military service. They were forbidden to have their own businesses, and Jewish property was registered and subject to confiscation.
On November 26, 1935, the laws were expanded and from now on included “enemies of the racial state” in addition to Jews, also Roma and blacks. Also, according to the amendments, the concept of “Jew” was legally defined as a person who had at least three Jewish ancestors in the third generation (including grandparents). For clarity, special racial tables were developed, which were widely reproduced in textbooks, school diaries, and notebooks. Later, by the law of August 17, 1938, a special mark was introduced in passports for Jews in the Third Reich – “J” (Jude). “Israel” was added to the name of each man, and Jewish women received the middle name “Sarah” in their passports.
People of mixed origin belonged to the category of so-called “Mischlings”, i.e. people of German-Jewish origin. The Nazi policy towards “Mischlings” was not consistent: against the background of general discrimination, exceptions were made for the most valuable personnel (good professionals, brave soldiers, people with good connections, etc.). However, if a “Mischling” married a Jew or followed Jewish traditions, he lost his special status and was equal to Jews.
Thus, the Nuremberg Laws were fully consistent with the concept of “racial hygiene,” which defined the need to separate people according to artificially developed criteria. These laws became the basis for a policy of further discrimination against Jews and their extermination during the “Final Solution to the Jewish Question.”