Why did Nazi Germany persecute the Jews?

1. The inertial effect of history. The large-scale persecution of Jews in Europe began during the Greco-Roman period. At that time, it was mainly to promote the Hellenization policy and suppress Jewish resistance and resistance. After the fall of the Roman Empire, on the one hand, the anti-Semitic and anti-Semitic trends created in society by the long-term anti-Semitic policies within the empire did not disappear all of a sudden. On the other hand, the anti-Semitic measures implemented by the Roman Empire were inherited by various countries in the post-Roman era. After the Germanic tribes defeated the Roman Empire, they initially did not actively learn from the excellent culture of Greece and Rome. Instead, they inherited and developed Christianity, which also included the persecution of Jews known as "heathens." For example, the additional provisions against Jews stipulated in the Roman Theorsi Code that came into effect in 438 AD later became the legal basis for anti-Semitism by some people.

2. Economic bias and short-sightedness. Since Jews have always been regarded as devils and heretics, their employment and operations have been greatly restricted. Many people can only engage in business and finance, especially the loan sharking industry. The Jews dispersed to various places relied on their intelligence and hard work to quickly accumulate a large amount of wealth, but this in turn became the object of jealousy and hatred among the local people. Christianity prohibits Christians from lending money and interest, so Jewish lending has always been regarded as a "sinful activity." In fact, "it is a vicious cycle of digging graves for oneself. Behind it is the religious persecution and racial discrimination of the Jewish people in Christian Europe." Discrimination.”1 The image of the Jewish loan shark Shylock portrayed by Shakespeare in The Merchant of Venice also reflects the prejudice against Jews in the minds of many Europeans.

On the one hand, European rulers persecuted the Jews, and on the other hand, they used the Jews as "blackmail" targets. The performance of the French rulers in this regard was particularly funny. From 1182 to 1321 AD, France expelled the Jews four times and recalled the Jews four times for fiscal revenue. In 1361, King John the Good of France was captured by the British. In order to raise a huge ransom, he allowed the Jews to return to France, and then expelled them in 1394. The famous Israeli historian Abba Eban once wrote in "Jewish History" that "their (Jewish) short-term settlement history in Britain vividly and profoundly reflects the fate of the Jews in the Middle Ages: they were encouraged at first, then humiliated, and After the rise of capitalism in modern Europe, the advantages of Jews in economic competition have also become a new excuse for irrational anti-Semitism. Some anti-Semitic organizations have used boycotts to oppose Jews and exclude Jews from certain activities. outside of industry and social organizations. In Austria, some anti-Semites openly chanted "Don't buy from Jews" in newspapers and at rallies. The French anti-Semite Edouard-Adolphe Drummond actually proposed in his book "The Jews of France" that France's economic depression and social poverty were the fault of the Jews. He believed that although Jews only accounted for 0.25% of the French population, they controlled more than half of France's wealth, so it was necessary to expropriate the property that the Jews "obviously obtained through illegal means." This book sold 100,000 copies in the year it was published and had a great bewildering effect on society.

3. Lack of political status. Jews basically appear as a minority in their places of residence. Their economic status highlights the uniqueness of their group. However, they have never fully obtained the corresponding political rights to protect their own interests. This makes them They are always a vulnerable group, and coupled with the ulterior motives of some people in power who connive and instigate Jews, they often become victims of power struggles for no reason. In the Middle Ages, the rulers of some European countries spared no effort to persecute the Jews in order to please the church. In modern times, in order to divert attention from domestic social conflicts and class struggles, rulers of various European countries often used Jews as "scapegoats." At the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century, the Russian tsarist regime used its opposition to Jews to divert domestic dissatisfaction, which played a role in fueling the anti-Semitic wave at that time. In the 1930s, Hitler's Nazi forces also used people's hatred of Jews to seize power step by step. From a historical point of view, from Joseph who was the prime minister in Egypt in the Bible to Esther who was the queen in Persia, from the "court Jews" in modern Europe to the Jews in the United States today, whenever Jews have a certain political status , their rights can be better protected and they can effectively resist anti-Semitic attacks.

4. Religious and cultural incompatibility. After Christianity was declared the state religion by the Roman Empire after the 4th century AD, it gradually gained dominance in Europe. However, its status has been questioned by Judaism. The New Testament and Christ Jesus, which are regarded as classics by Christianity, have been denied by Judaism. This denial is actually a questioning of the legitimacy of Christianity. "For thousands of years, God has , Torah, and Israel have always been part of Judaism, and Jewish loyalty to these things has served as an excuse for anti-Semitism. A challenge to legitimacy.”3 This is something that the Christian-dominated European society cannot tolerate.

Secondly, there are the religious legends about the persecution of Christ Jesus by the Jews, and the ulterior motives of some people to associate Jews with the descendants of Judas who betrayed Jesus. Whether these religious legends are true or not, they have been promoted to a certain extent by the Christian church. This deepened Christian prejudice against the Jews and led to a strong feeling of religious revenge. Finally, there is the opposition in religious values.

The Jews consider themselves to be God's "Chosen People" and have a certain contractual relationship with God; although Christianity was born out of Judaism, it has evolved into a universal religion. Believing that all people can be converted into God's people, Christians have the mission to save mankind and the world. Therefore, when Christianity and Judaism, which has a sense of superiority, collide head-on, conflict is inevitable. Either they will be naturalized, or they will become "heinous" pagans. Because of this, those fanatical Crusaders put forward the slogan "Kill a Jew to save your soul" during the Eastern Crusades. The Christian church also tried every means, including using violent means, to force the Jews to change their beliefs or even eliminate them. .

Due to their uniqueness in religion and values, the Jews are different from the Christian world in all aspects of social life. This difference makes them often regarded as "other than my race", thus forming a profound prejudice. It stands to reason that this difference may not necessarily become a real conflict. Generally speaking, there are two functions within any national culture: exclusion and inclusiveness. Exclusion helps the continuation and stability of traditional culture. It is a culture's reaction to foreign and heterogeneous cultures out of the instinct of protecting itself. Inclusiveness is conducive to absorbing foreign cultures and adapting to social development. The functioning of these two functions is not synchronous and balanced. It is closely related to the degree of self-confidence and openness of the culture itself and the social environment in which it exists. Since the European world after Greece and Rome did not have the superiority and self-confidence of Chinese culture, coupled with the paranoia and irrational factors brought about by Christianity occupying the dominant position in social thought, it showed a negative attitude towards the heterogeneous Jews and culture. Strong rejection rather than tolerance. In this way, the differences in the cultural life of societies dominated by two different religious beliefs have become an excuse for real conflict.