Nazi Racial Policy - Racial Hygiene
- 3. THE S.S. THE ARYAN ELITE All children of 10 years and above had to join one of the Hitler Youth Organisations. These were under the control of the SS. The HJ were useful for instilling loyalty to the Nazis, identifying future SS members, and preparing German Youth for future wars. Hitler believed women’s prime role , especially those who had ‘Aryan’ physical features, was to increase the number of Aryan children. SS officers had the role to breed with such women and could have several. Special homes were set up ‘Well of Life’ homes were established to look after such women. It was important to know who belonged to which race, so the Nazis introduced a series of racial tests on the population – assessing eye colour, and hair, nose shapes, etc. It was thought that handicapped people might weaken the ‘German’ blood-line so first they were isolated, then later it was decided to eliminate/murder them. Were rounded up and placed in concentration camps where they were worked to death. Jews were regarded as less than human, as vermin. At first Nazis policy was to force them out of Germany but during World War 2 it became official policy to eliminate them as a race – ‘genocide’.
- 4. Checking the passes of Jews.
- 7. As a little girl, Anna-Maria Ernst lived a happy life among her relatives. She lost almost all of them. She was the only one of her immediate family to survive the horror of the concentration camps.