The approximately 500 000 Jews living in Germany (almost 0.77% of the population) soon began to feel the force of Nazi anti-Semitism. The coming to power of Adolf Hitler (link in Czech) and the NSDAP saw the beginning of a process in which Jews were excluded from German society, bullied and persecuted. Although it was slowed down at times for reasons of tactics and international politics, the aim of this process was, from the very start, the destruction of Jews.
The period immediately following the Nazi seizure of power was marked by „spontaneous“ persecution, above all by SA units, who in various places conducted intimidation and terror campaigns, and physically attacked the Jewish population. The first Jews, in particular immigrants from Eastern Europe, were sent to concentration camps. From the earliest days of the new regime, various decrees relating to Jews started to be issued, limiting their ability to carry out their professions, enter public facilities and so on. Many of these decrees were issued by local authorities, and numerous German communities put up signs forbidding Jews from entering their territory.
