Why did Germans believe that everything was the Jews' fault?

Answer 1

The Germans had a difficult time accepting that they had lost WWI. After WWI, the German Army was still in France and basically walked home, so no direct invasion of Germany occured. After the war, the myth emerged that in fact Germany HADN'T been beaten, that the German Army had been stabbed in the back by the Jews. The argument is so ridiculously absurd - even if the German Jews WERE a genuine fifth column element in Germany (and trust me many of them were sitting in the trenches with their fellow countrymen), it still doesn't explain the German loss.

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There was no fifth column ... The astonishing thing in World War 1 was that Germany managed to fight so effectively for so long against an alliance with vastly more resources and manpower. Once Germany lost the Battle of the Marne in 1914 its chances of winning were poor.

The German elites and the government asked far, far too much of the German population. The real defeat was on the battlefield in northern France in August-September 1918. (It led to Ludendorff's 'nineteenth nervous breakdown').

It was the top German military who said that Germany couldn't go on fighting and would have to ask for an armistice. Ludendorff said on 1 October 1918 that he wanted to keep the prestige of the German Army intact and that a future civilian government would have to sign and be tarred with the brush of defeat. It had nothing to do with alleged subversives on the home front, Jewish or gentile.

Answer 2

Hitler believed in conspiracy theories that regarded the Jews as Communists and claimed that they had deliberately made Germany lose World War 1 by causing strikes, subversion and revolution on the home front. He also said that they had deliberately caused the Great Depression. Worst of all, some of these conspiracy theories claimed that the Jews were seeking world domination and were therefore in competition with Germany's bid to dominate the world.

The Jews were a traditional target for conspiracy theories and were not well placed to fight back. There were an easy target. Antisemitic attitudes had been rampant in Europe for centuries before WWII, and Germany was no exception.

Hitler was an extreme nationalist, meaning he thought his nation - Austria/Germany - was the best on the planet and by implication that all other nations were inferior. The opposite of being a Nazi/nationalist is to be a Communist.

Many, perhaps for a brief spell a fifth or so, of the original top Soviet Communist leadership was ethnically Jewish. (That soon changed under Stalin). All kinds of conspiracy theories flourished. (These conspiracy theories never mentioned the fact that in Russia the government itself was rabidly anti-Jewish from 1881-1917, so it was not at all surprising that quite a number of Jews joined the Bolsheviks). Hitler and many other Nazis felt a deep hatred for Jews. In fact, the major war effort in WWII by Germany was against Russia in an attempt to destroy Communism and the Jews, whom he believed supported and led them. He also believed that the Jews were the biological root of Communism.

Many, including Hitler, believed that Jews had played a major part in Germany's defeat in WWI. Jews were prominent in some sectors of the economy around the world such as banking/finance and some sections of the media.

If one looks closely at anti-Jewish claims and rhetoric, at the stereotypes, it becomes clear that the prejudices are fundamentally anti-modern. Not surprisingly, sections of society that felt squeezed by economic and social changes in the period from about 1910-33 - such as the landowning aristocracy, owners of small shops and workshops - contained some of the most rabidly anti-Jewish elements.

There was also a regional dimension to this. Hostility to Jews was strongest in Bavaria, where Jews had played a particularly prominent part in the revolutions of Novemeber 1918-May 1919. Hostility to Jews was particulary strong in the Danube region, especially in Bavaria, Austria, Hungary, Romania.

These various anti-Jewish forces and beliefs reached a quasi-religious zeal in parts of the Nazi movement and culminated in the Holocaust.

Please see the related question for fuller answers.

Answer 3

The jews were blamed by hitler then eventually Germany. the Jews had no country of their own hitler. Blamed the jews for the death of Jesus so with a lot of speeches and convincing hitler was the leader of the nazis and used the swaztika as their symbol.The jews entered countries like Poland,Germany, Austria, and Italy etc.... This mad hitler mad at jews for taking all the good jobs. Soon during ww2 hitler mad a fake video to show the Axis a fake video on what he is doing to the jews. It showed them playing hopscotch running around amd smiling. It was shown in a movie called "The boy in the stripped pajamas." But it wasn't like that at all in there it was a living hell!

Answer 4

To gain both publicity and power. And how he handled what he did to the Jews and anyone who wasn't a full blooded German or Italian (because of his Italian allies) would probably have caused us to mutilate him alive to see how he felt about all the cruelty to any non German or Italian, especially a Jew. Ironically, he was a Jew himself! Another reason would be that he read about the history of religion and found more Jewish "crimes" than any other religion, by far. Though some evidence points toward the fact that he had always hated Jews, more points to the fact that he researched religious crimes. But what he wanted most for his prosecutions was power, and limitless amounts of it.

Answer 5

Jews were used as scapegoats because they were easy able to persecute them.

Answer 6

He didn't get into art school and thought that they were Communists.

Answer 7

because hitler wanted someone to blame. and they were the ones that got in the way of his controling power.