Recent research by historian Hermann Beck challenges previous assumptions about the gradual development of persecution under the Third Reich, making a significant contribution to the historical understanding of how quickly and extensively antisemitic violence took hold in Nazi Germany.
Through extensive research across more than 20 German archives, Beck, a professor in the Department of History at the University of Miami College of Arts and Sciences, conducted a comprehensive study that unveils previously undocumented patterns of antisemitic violence in the early months of Nazi rule.
He documented his groundbreaking work in a book entitled “Before the Holocaust,” which was recently awarded the Yad Vashem International Book Prize. The prestigious award recognizes Beck’s important contribution to understanding the crucial early period of Nazi rule and his meticulous documentation of this period, which shaped the trajectory of the Third Reich.
“During my research, I was very astonished to see that there was widespread antisemitic violence beginning only weeks after the end of the Weimar Republic,” said Beck, whose exhaustive investigation uncovered evidence of more than a thousand violent attacks and dozens of murders in 1933, far earlier than previously recognized by Holocaust scholars. “While the literature on Nazi Germany argues that antisemitic violence began much later and that there were no pogrom-like attacks in 1933, I found evidence that told a different story.”
Beck documented numerous instances of violence, including disturbing “pillory marches” where victims were forcibly paraded through towns by Nazi stormtroopers. These victims were forced to wear signs around their necks that marked them as swindlers and racketeers, labels that fed into antisemitic prejudices.
Beck’s journey to this groundbreaking research began in Europe, where he studied at German universities in Freiburg and Berlin, followed by the London School of Economics and Political Science in the United Kingdom and Sorbonne University in France. His focus on modern German history, particularly the Third Reich and its precursors, led him to examine what scholars call the German “Sonderweg”—Germany’s distinctive historical path that set the stage for Hitler’s rise to power.
“From the first, I was mostly interested in modern German history, in particular in the Third Reich and its ‘pre-history,’ that is, the developments that led up to the establishment of the Nazi regime,” Beck explained. His academic path, culminating in a Ph.D. from the University of California, Los Angeles, shaped his comprehensive approach to understanding the complex relationships between German conservatism and Nazism.
Beck’s latest achievement builds upon his distinguished record of scholarship examining German history. His previous research focused on 19th century Prussian history and conservatives in the late Weimar Republic.
“Before the Holocaust” explores three main areas: violence against foreign Jews, patterns of exclusion for German Jews, and the responses of conservative elites to this early violence. Beck’s research reveals that potential resistance to these attacks was still possible during this period, as the Nazi dictatorship had not yet fully consolidated its power.
“The spectrum of violence was extensive,” Beck noted, “ranging from boycotts, which were often connected with violence, to abductions, attacks resulting in grievous bodily harm, murder cases, and pillory marches.” Foreign Jews, particularly those who had emigrated from Eastern Europe, were among the first targets in March 1933, when about 98,000 foreign Jews were living in Germany.
The Yad Vashem International Book Prize represents a significant commendation of Beck’s contribution to Holocaust studies. “I have been very honored by Yad Vashem’s recognition of the value of my work in ‘Before the Holocaust,’” Beck said.
One of the book’s most significant contributions is its examination of institutional responses to the violence. Beck found that while individual protest was hazardous, political parties and institutions could still have spoken out in March and April 1933. His work emphasizes that while individuals faced limited options under the dictatorship, institutions might have had the capacity to resist.
“The progressive radicalization of antisemitic measures in the second half of the 1930s might not have been possible to the same extent if the institutions and elites had taken a stand in the spring of 1933,” Beck concluded, highlighting the broader implications of his research for understanding institutional responsibility during periods of political transformation.
