Overview of Black People During the Nazi Regime:

The history of Black people during the Nazi regime is a deeply troubling and often overlooked aspect of World War II and the Holocaust. While the Nazi regime primarily targeted Jews, Romani people, and others they deemed "undesirable," Black people in Germany and occupied Europe also faced significant persecution and discrimination. 

Background and Presence in Germany:

• Black people in Germany during the Nazi era included Africans, Afro-Germans (children of African soldiers and German women, particularly from the Rhineland area after World War I), and people from Germany's former African colonies.
• Many Afro-Germans were descendants of French colonial soldiers who had occupied the Rhineland after World War I.
• Black people in Germany before the Nazi era included people of African descent who came to Germany as part of colonial history, African students, and those born from unions between German women and African soldiers stationed in the Rhineland after World War I.
• These children, derogatorily referred to as "Rhineland Bastards," faced intense racism and were often ostracized.

• • The Nazi ideology was fundamentally racist and placed a strong emphasis on "racial purity." Black people were considered racially inferior and were not part of the Aryan ideal that the Nazis promoted.
  • Black people were subjected to racist laws and policies similar to those targeting Jews and Romani people, including segregation and exclusion from various aspects of public life.
  • Children from German women and Black French soldiers, derogatorily referred to as "Rhineland Bastards," were targeted by Nazi policies. Many were forcibly sterilized as part of Hitler's campaign to maintain the "purity" of the Aryan race.
  • Black people were excluded from many aspects of public life, including education and employment.

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   • The Nazis did not have a systematic plan for the extermination of Black people, as they did for Jews, but they were still persecuted.
   • Many Black people in Germany were sterilized as part of the Nazi eugenics program aimed at preventing "racial contamination."
   • Black Germans and other Black people in occupied territories could be arrested, imprisoned, or sent to concentration camps, where they suffered along with other victims of the regime. Some were subjected to medical experiments.
   • In German-occupied territories, black soldiers from French and British colonies who were captured by the Nazis were often treated harshly and, in some cases, executed.
   • Cultural Suppression: Black culture, particularly jazz music, was condemned as "degenerate" by the Nazis. Despite this, some underground jazz scenes persisted in Nazi Germany, with musicians and fans continuing to perform and listen to the music despite the risks.
   • African American entertainers and athletes who were in Germany during the 1930s and early 1940s also faced racial discrimination. Jesse Owens, for example, famously won four gold medals at the 1936 Berlin Olympics, challenging Nazi racial ideology, but was still subjected to racial prejudice during his stay.

Despite the dangers, some Black people in Nazi Germany and occupied Europe engaged in acts of resistance, including working with underground movements and helping other persecuted groups.

• After World War II, the experiences of Black people during the Nazi era were largely ignored, and they received little recognition or reparations.
• In recent decades, there has been a growing interest in acknowledging and documenting the experiences of Black people under Nazi rule.
• A small number managed to survive the Holocaust, though their stories are less well-known compared to other groups.

• Racial Laws: Black people were affected by the Nuremberg Laws and other racial legislation.
• Sterilization: Many Black Germans, especially children of African soldiers and German women, were forcibly sterilized.
• Concentration Camps: While not targeted for extermination like Jews, some Black people were imprisoned in camps where they faced brutal conditions.
• Resistance: Despite severe risks, some Black people participated in resistance movements against the Nazis.

The history of Black people during the Nazi regime is a stark reminder of the widespread impact of Nazi racism and the importance of remembering all victims of persecution during this dark chapter in history.