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In 1933 new German laws forced Jews to quit their civil service jobs, university
and law court positions. In April 1933, a boycott of Jewish businesses
was instituted. In 1935, laws proclaimed at Nuremberg stripped German Jews
of their citezship even though they retained limited rights. These "Nuremburg
Laws" defined Jews not by their religion or by how they wanted to identify
themselves but by the blood of their grandparents. Between 1937 and 1939,
new anti-Jewish regulations segregated Jews further and made daily life
very difficult of them: Jews could not attend public schools, go to theaters,
cinemas, or vacation resorts, or reside, or even walk, in certain sections
of German cities.
Also between 1937 and 1939, Jews were forced from Germany's economic life:
the Nazis either seized Jewish businesses and properties outright or forced
Jews to sell them at bargain prices. In November 1938, this economic attack
against German and Austrian Jews changed into the physical destruction
of synagogues and Jewish-owned stores, the arrest of Jewish men, the destruction
of homes, and the murder of individuals. This centrally organized riot
(pogrom) became known as Kristallnacht (the "Night of Broken Glass").
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