Law against overcrowding in German schools and universities

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Law against the overcrowding of German schools and universities of April 25, 1933

The law against overcrowding in German schools and universities of April 25, 1933 regulated the number of pupils in secondary schools and students during the Nazi era, taking into account the racist characteristic of “non-Aryan” descent. The law is best known as part of anti-Semitic legislation under National Socialism. However, it also led to restrictions for “non-Aryans” and especially for women.

In a narrower sense, the law signed by Reich Chancellor Hitler and Reich Interior Minister Wilhelm Frick set the general framework for reducing the proportion of " Reich Germans (...) of non- Aryan descent" - i.e. H. especially from German Jews - to limit among schoolchildren and students; According to the law, details should be determined by Reich Minister of the Interior Frick. Accordingly, on the same day, Frick passed the First Ordinance to Implement the Law against Overcrowding in German Schools and Universities , which contained more precise regulations and in particular the specific quotas for German non- Aryans - including a maximum of 1.5 percent of all new admissions to secondary schools and universities - fixed. In an ordinance of December 28, 1933, Frick also set general benchmarks for the admission of students with effect from January 1934. According to this, a maximum of 15,000 high school graduates born in 1934 were allowed to study at university, only ten percent of them women. When the law against the overcrowding of German schools and universities is spoken of, the ordinance on the 1.5 percent quota is usually also meant, but not the general admission restrictions that will soon be abolished.

The anti-Jewish regulations did not apply to all higher education institutions, since the proportion of pupils and students affected did not exceed the statutory quotas everywhere. Elsewhere, there were absenteeism and de- registration , with serious consequences for those affected. The general reference figures used in 1934 meant that the Abitur (completion of the grammar school) was decoupled from the higher education entrance qualification (entrance qualification to universities) from the year 1934 . Depending on the country , men and, in particular, women who were harder hit by the regulations, had to convince in addition to their academic performance in some cases also in terms of character or politics before they were awarded the higher education entrance qualification.

The setting of general student maximum numbers was dropped again in 1935. The general law and its racist ordinances remained in force until 1940. After Jewish students were no longer allowed to attend public schools on July 30, 1939, the law was repealed in January 1940 by an unpublished ordinance.

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General framework and quotation of the law

The law against the overcrowding of German schools and universities should, according to its own statement, limit the number of pupils from secondary schools and students at universities to the extent that "thorough training is ensured and the needs of the professions are sufficient" (§ 1). The state governments had to determine the number of pupils per secondary school and the number of students per faculty (§ 2). [According to the ordinance issued at the same time, the law also applied to faculty-like subdivision units - see below .] Higher schools and faculties "whose number of visitors was particularly disproportionate to the needs of the professions" should have included the number of them during the 1933 school year Lower schoolchildren and students, as far as this was possible without "excessive hardship" (§ 3).

Section 4 of the law determined the special treatment of " Reich Germans who are not of Aryan descent within the meaning of the law for the restoration of the professional civil service of April 7, 1933 (...) and thus in particular German Jews: their share in the newly admitted pupils or students every higher school and faculty was not allowed to exceed the proportion of non-Aryans in the total population of the Reich - at the beginning of 1933 approx. one percent; the latter number is set uniformly across the empire. [The ordinance issued on the same day stipulated a quota of a maximum of 1.5 percent of Reich German non-Aryans, see below .] A distinction should also be made between Aryans and non-Aryans when reducing the number of schoolchildren and students in accordance with Section 3, with a separate (" higher ") quota can be used (see below). Imperial German non-Aryans were exempted from the regulations under Section 4 (3) if their father fought on the side of Germany or its allies in World War I ( front-line combatant privilege ), or if their parents had married before the law came into force and at least one parent or at least two grandparents "Aryan descent" were; these pupils or students were not taken into account when calculating the quotas set out in § 4 Paragraph 1-2.

The law was expressly subordinate to international treaties (Section 5), and its “implementing provisions” were to be issued by the Reich Minister of the Interior (Section 6). As is common practice, the law came into force when it was promulgated (Section 7).

First regulation to the law

Concrete quotation and prohibition of switching to other institutes

The first ordinance for the implementation of the law against the overcrowding of German schools and universities of the Reich Minister of the Interior of April 25, 1933 laid down the "implementing provisions" in accordance with Section 6 of the law. In it the quotas of “non-Aryan” Reich German pupils and students were determined (Art. 8): Only a maximum of 1.5 percent of all newly admitted pupils or students per higher school or faculty were allowed to be “non-Aryan” Reich Germans; this number was thus slightly above the number required by law (Section 4, Paragraph 1), which would have resulted from the proportion of non-Aryans in the German population (approx. one percent at the beginning of 1933). Small schools and faculties, which according to the 1.5 percent rule are not allowed to admit any “non-Aryan” pupils or students at all (i.e. fewer than 67 new admissions), were also exceptionally allowed to accept a single such pupil or student; after that, however, further “non-Aryan” visitors were only allowed if the total number of all “non-Aryan” new admissions since the law came into force remained below 1.5 percent (Art. 9 Para. 3).

In addition, Art. 11 of the ordinance stipulated that the 1.5 percent quota should also be applied retrospectively for the current school year or the summer semester of 1933; “Non-Aryan” Reich German school and university beginners therefore had to be expelled from the higher schools or universities retrospectively until a share of 1.5 percent was reached.

Art. 8 also specified that a maximum of five percent of “non-Aryan” Reich German pupils or students were allowed to stay at a higher school or faculty if they had to reduce their pupil and student numbers in accordance with Section 3 (2) of the Act; "Non-Aryan" Reich Germans were spared from school or university expulsions if they had been attending an institution since at least 1932, the number of pupils or students of which, according to the law, did not exceed the "needs of the professions" (Section 3 (2) of the Act). Furthermore, Article 2 of the regulation also stated in general that the Reich Minister of the Interior - d. H. the author of the text - for the admission restrictions for schoolchildren and students (§ 1 of the law) can determine “general reference figures”.

The determination of which types of schools and faculties would have to reduce the number of visitors according to Section 3 of the Act was entrusted to the state governments (Art. 6 Paragraph 1); they could decide whether a higher school or faculty with more than five percent “non-Aryan” Reich German visitors had to reduce this proportion to five percent or not. However, the Reich Minister of the Interior reserved the right to be able to make the decision himself “in order to establish a uniform procedure” (Art. 6, Paragraph 2).

The pupils and students affected by the school leaving and exmatriculations were not allowed to continue their studies at other educational institutions (Art. 7): Pupils were not allowed to change to another school “of the same type” (Art. 7 Paragraph 1). In order to enable them to obtain an “adequate educational qualification”, however, the state governments were allowed to “make special arrangements and regulations” [sic] (Art. 7, Paragraph 2). Students were excluded from further university studies without replacement (Art. 7 Para. 3).

Framework of application of the regulations

The remaining paragraphs of the ordinance specified the scope of application of the regulations. This included the provision that the scope of the law expressly extends to public as well as private educational institutions and, in case of doubt, the state governments decide whether a school or university is affected (Art. 1). In addition to faculties, faculty-like structural units (e.g. departments) were also affected (Art. 3). The reduction in the number of pupils and students according to § 3 of the law and the calculation of the number of new admissions could be carried out separately in schools or faculties according to subject area (Art. 5).

The faculties had to “maintain” the 1.5 percent quota within the first enrollment (Art. 9 Para. 1). The regulation applied analogously to new schools, "as long as this school is still attended by students of non-Aryan descent who have stayed on it within the framework of the ratio of § 4 Paragraph 2" (Art. 9 Paragraph 2). A new admission of pupils or students was the first admission to a Reich German higher school (regardless of form) or to a faculty of "the relevant type" (Art. 4). If a pupil who only attended a higher school since the law came into force changed school, he was included in the number of shares at his new school (Art. 10); no parallel regulation for students was enacted.

Application and consequences for the “non-Aryan” affected persons

The law did not lead to the exclusion of "non-Aryans" in all high schools and universities. At many universities, the proportion of Jewish students was less than 1 percent. In addition, numerous "non-Aryan" students fell under the exception rules of the law because their fathers fought for the German Reich in World War I or because one of their parents was "Aryan". Ultimately, a total of 49 "non-Aryan" students had to finish their studies at only four universities (Frankfurt / Main, Königsberg, Leipzig, TH Berlin) due to this law.

Those affected, who were excluded from higher schools or universities, generally no longer had the opportunity to complete vocational training in Germany in any other way. This exacerbated their situation, which was becoming more and more difficult due to the racist persecution. For many, the only remedy seemed to be to flee abroad. However, they were often unable to continue their studies there either; if they had already obtained degrees, these were often not recognized. As with other refugees from the Third Reich, the result was often lengthy attempts to gain a foothold in the new country, which - sometimes after stopping in other countries - often ended in the USA, England or Palestine / Israel.

Prehistory and formation of the law

Admission restrictions to universities had been considered in Prussia even before 1933 in order to prevent the emergence of an " academic proletariat ".

In the early 20th century, Jews were over-represented at German universities - compared to their share in the total population; the proportion of female Jews among the (generally under-represented) female students was twice as high as the proportion of male Jews among male students. With a clear aim, the National Socialist German Student Union (NSDStB) demanded a numerus clausus for Jews and non-Germans as early as 1929 . In the call for a boycott of Jews published by the Reich leadership of the NSDAP on March 30, 1933 in the Völkischer Beobachter , it was requested that the number of Jewish employees in all professions should be limited according to their proportion of the population. For tactical reasons, this demand should initially be limited to three areas, namely to the profession of doctors, to that of lawyers and to attending the “German secondary schools”.

The preliminary work on the draft law was initiated by the cultural policy department of the Reich Ministry of the Interior under Wilhelm Frick . The first three drafts dealt only with the aspect of "foreign infiltration" and were directed exclusively against non-Aryans; Just a few days before the law was passed, it should accordingly be called the "Law against foreign infiltration of German schools and universities". Reich Foreign Minister Konstantin Freiherr von Neurath , however, saw the danger that the law in this form could trigger negative reactions abroad, and finally convinced Frick, in charge, to "give the bill an outwardly more neutral form".

Konstantin Freiherr von Neurath argued in vain against the quotation for Jewish pupils and students, as he feared repercussions on the minority policy of German ethnic groups abroad. Finance Minister Johann Ludwig Graf Schwerin von Krosigk pushed through the adoption of the special regulation for “ Jewish mixed race ” and children of combatants from the front , which was already included in the law to restore the civil service .

Further restrictions against Jews

Both Jews and Jewish mixed race received neither scholarships nor fee waivers; Exceptions were only possible for descendants of frontline fighters. For some courses of study, such as dentistry, Jewish students were denied examinations and license to practice medicine. From April 1937 Jews could no longer do a doctorate; from April 1938 full Jews were no longer enrolled.

The procedure was inconsistent with “ Jewish half-breeds ”, who repeatedly came to different decisions in the conflict of competence between the party chancellery and the Reich Ministry of Education.

Anti-Semitic meaning of the law

This law not only undermined the individual right to higher education in favor of state-regulated admission based on the available reception capacities and assumed needs. The law was particularly aimed at Jewish citizens. The racist and anti-Semitic direction was already unmistakable in the title of the drafts for a “law against foreign infiltration of German schools and universities”. The historian Olenhusen sees this as an “exclusively anti-Semitic” goal and interprets the reason given in the law to ensure thorough training and to reconcile training and needs as a pretext.

Uwe Dietrich Adam judges that the drafting of this law showed "weak but noticeable resistance from the conservative cabinet members", but that the effects of the law represent a clear victory for the National Socialists.

Adam points out that individual universities had already started without a legal basis to exclude Jewish students from some particularly frequently chosen courses, and that individual communities had banned Jewish students from school. The Reich Ministry of the Interior therefore acted to standardize a situation that had become irregular and to sanction the situation that had arisen by means of a legal regulation.

Legal text and literature used

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e Law against the overcrowding of German schools and universities. RGBl. 1933 I, p. 225
  2. ↑ a b c d e f g h First ordinance on the implementation of the law against overcrowding in German schools and universities. RGBl. 1933 I, p. 226
  3. ^ Claudia Huerkamp: Bildungsbürgerinnen. Women in studies and in academic professions 1900–1945. 1996, ISBN 3-525-35675-7 , pp. 80ff. (Series: Citizenship, Volume 10 )
  4. ↑ AG v. Olenhusen: The “non-Aryan” students at German universities. In: Vierteljahrshefte für Zeitgeschichte , 14, 1966, no. 2, p. 178, note 20
  5. ↑ AG v. Olenhusen: The "non-Aryan" students ... In: Vierteljahrshefte für Zeitgeschichte , 14, 1966, p. 193.
  6. ^ A b Germany: Jewish Population in 1933 . Holocaust Encyclopedia. United States Holocaust Memorial Museum; Retrieved February 27, 2010
  7. ^ Michael Grüttner: Students in the Third Reich. Paderborn 1995, pp. 212-214.
  8. ^ Christoph Jahr: The Berlin University during the Nazi era . Stuttgart 2005, ISBN 3-515-08657-9 , p. 157.
  9. ^ Claudia Huerkamp: Jewish women academics in Germany 1900–1938 . In: Geschichte und Gesellschaft , 19. Jg., 1993, Issue 3, Racial Policy and Gender Policy in National Socialism , pp. 311–331. Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht
  10. ↑ Wolf Gruner (edit.): The persecution and murder of European Jews by National Socialist Germany 1933–1945 , Vol. 1., German Reich 1933–1937. Munich 2008, ISBN 978-3-486-58480-6 , document 17, point 9, p. 103.
  11. ↑ cf. the law on admission to the bar of April 7, 1933 and the ordinance on the admission of doctors to work for the health insurance funds of April 22, 1933
  12. ↑ AG v. Olenhusen: The “non-Aryan” students at German universities. In: Vierteljahrshefte für Zeitgeschichte , 14, 1966, p. 176.
  13. ^ Claudia Huerkamp: Bildungsbürgerinnen. Women in studies and in academic professions 1900–1945. 1996, ISBN 3-525-35675-7 , p. 80 (series: Bürgerertum, volume 10 )
  14. ↑ AG v. Olenhusen: The "non-Aryan" students ... In: Vierteljahrshefte für Zeitgeschichte , 14, 1966, p. 178.
  15. ↑ AG v. Olenhusen: The “non-Aryan” students… In: Vierteljahrshefte für Zeitgeschichte , 14, 1966, pp. 191–198.
  16. ↑ AG v. Olenhusen: The "non-Aryan" students ... In: Vierteljahrshefte für Zeitgeschichte , 14, 1966, p. 177.
  17. ↑ Uwe Dietrich Adam: Jewish policy in the Third Reich . Düsseldorf 2003, ISBN 3-7700-4063-5 , p. 53.
  18. ↑ Uwe Dietrich Adam: Jewish policy in the Third Reich . Düsseldorf 2003, ISBN 3-7700-4063-5 , p. 52 with note 233