So it was to be black in Nazi Germany
They say that the victors always write history. But beyond the lapidary phrases and reductionist, there are stories that are never written neither by winners nor by losers.
After the Allied victory in World War II, every January 27th is commemorated in the Holocaust to the Jewish victims of Nazi racism, with some small mention of Roma victims. However, nothing is said, publicly, the victims black.
The victors forget that blacks in size although many minors- were also persecuted and annihilated by the Nazis only by the color of their skin. And this forgetfulness occurs even though blacks also fought and won the war
They have never been able to write his story.. The black holocaust of Hitler
In 1933, the black community in Germany had a few thousand . Although no official statistics, the presence of black citizens is known from the German colonies, who arrived in the metropolis after the Germans African territories were occupied by the victorious powers. Another part of the black community is the one that was formed as a result of marriages between French colonial troops with women of the Rhine region was annexed by Germany in the beginning of the war.
Although there was no systematic and planned annihilation these were the conditions to which they had to face:
- Could not hold any political and social activism. In 1933, there were dozens of blacks who were part of communist and anti-racist groups that were dissolved. And blacks, in particular, could not participate in any other public activity.
- The blacks had no citizenship and a German passport. Under the Nuremberg Laws of 1935, which regulated the Jews were allowed to German citizenship and could not marry or have sex with people of German blood, blacks were included later. They were considered bearers of “foreign blood” and were called “black stateless”
- In 1941, black children were expelled from public schools . They could not go to university or professional training.
- The blacks could not work in regular jobs. They were recruited for forced labor under the title of “foreign workers” in exchange for basic salaries. Another source of income for blacks was involved in Nazi propaganda films aimed at African colonies. Many of them were denigrated.
- The existing marriages between Germans and Germans black whites were harassed until their separation for fear of pollution of the race. When a white woman was pregnant by a black, it is the black male sterilized without their consent. There are also documents that prove forced sterilization 400 black children in the Rhineland (descendants of French colonial troops) . These kids were also treated as outcasts by the regime.
Alongside these disqualifications and persecution, are documented various cases of detention of blacks in concentration camps (at least 20) and racist crimes at the hands of the SS against black citizens , as the case Hilarious dancer murder (Lari) Gilges.
In the past of Germany, the multicultural coexistence has been a pending issue. Eve Rosenhaft historians point out that the current openness of the institutions of the German Government to refugees might be a way to restore the country racial discrimination practiced under the Nazis.
However the forgetfulness of one’s victorious powers toward black victims raises another debate. A debate centered not in Germany but in countries like the US and France, where racism still remains veiled and complacently. Although the law gives equal rights to blacks than whites, in practice, it remains deeply rooted racist mentality to the point that blacks have been the forgotten holocaust of Hitler’s racist country that defeated Hitler
[Via: Newsweek United States Holocaust Memorial Museum ].
They say that history is always written by the victors. But there are stories that no one writes.
