These two important
laws were really the foundation of the Holocaust. The first, the Reichsbürgrgesetz,
coming into effect in 1935, defined a difference between people who belonged to
the Reich and people who had German citizenship. This immediately declared that
all Jews were not Reichs people. Those who had three or more Jewish grandparents
were definitely Jewish. Those who had two or more Jewish grandparents were known
as “Mischlinge” and could also not become Reichs citizens. This made Clara
Lehrs and her three children definitely Jewish. Renate Edler thereby becomes a
Mischling. In some way, being a Mischling is even tougher than being a Jew. A
Mischling cannot enjoy solidarity with other Jews.
Clara Lehrs’ Catholicism
and anthroposophism did not help at all because of the Blutschutzgesetz. This was the law for the protection of racial
purity. It forbade certain marriages. The marriage between Hans Edler and Kathe
Edler, Renate’s parents, became illegal.
These two laws, taken to extreme, led to the
Holocaust and the Final Solution. The Blutschutzgesetz also has implications for
the Nazi ideal of the Master Race.
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