Nazi boycott of Jewish businesses
| Part of Nazi Germany's anti-Jewish actions, including Anti-Jewish legislation in pre-war Nazi Germany, Racial policy of Nazi Germany, Nuremberg Laws, Kristallnacht, and the Holocaust, and of the aftermath of Political violence in Germany (1918–1933) | |
Nazi SA paramilitaries outside Israel's Department Store in Berlin. The signs read: "Germans! Defend yourselves! Don't buy from Jews." | |
| Native name | Judenboykott Aprilboykott |
|---|---|
| Date | 1 April 1933 |
| Location | Pre-war Nazi Germany |
| Organized by | Nazi Party |
| Participants | Sturmabteilung Schutzstaffel Der Stahlhelm, Bund der Frontsoldaten Hitler Youth |
The Nazi boycott of Jewish businesses (German: Judenboykott) was a nationwide boycott on various commercial establishments such as shops, warehouses, banks, doctor's offices, law firms, and notaries across Germany on 1 April 1933. It was an early governmental action against the Jews of Germany by the new National Socialist government, and was claimed to be a defensive reaction to the anti-Nazi boycott the prior month.
The boycott was largely unsuccessful, taking place over a single Saturday, due to which most Jewish businesses were closed for Sabbath. Throughout the day, SA and SS blocked entry to businesses, vandalising and looting several storefronts, as well as physically assaulting several Jewish business owners and those suspected of buying from them. The boycott unofficially ended the same evening and placed on hold for three days. As the German population continued to use Jewish businesses during this break, the action was disengaged prematurely.
Although functionally a failure, the boycott revealed the intent of the Nazis to undermine the viability of Jews in Germany and is considered a first step in the Final Solution. It was the first major step in what would become a state-managed campaign of ever-increasing harassment, arrests, systematic pillaging, forced transfer of ownership to Nazi Party activists (managed by the Chamber of Commerce), and ultimately murder of Jewish business owners. In Berlin alone, there were 50,000 Jewish-owned businesses.