Jewish communities have existed in the territories of modern-day Germany since Roman times, around the fourth century. By 1925, a census identified over half a million Jewish people living in Germany, accounting for around 1% of the total population. Jewish communities thrived in both economic and cultural terms, and Jewish people were active in commerce, science, the arts, and politics. During World War I, over 100,000 Jewish men fought in the Imperial German Army, demonstrating their commitment to the nation. By 1930, most Jewish communities in Germany were integrated and accepted, though some Jewish people still faced discrimination and distrust.
Then, in 1933, the Nazi Party under the leadership of Adolf Hitler came to power. Hitler harbored a visceral hatred of Jews, which was quickly translated into new laws and decrees against Jewish people and boycotts of Jewish businesses. Over the course of the next decade, Hitler's hatred of the Jewish people was transformed into something much darker. From 1933 until the final defeat of Nazi Germany in 1945, an estimated six million Jewish people were murdered by representatives of the Nazi regime and those who collaborated with it. How could such a thing happen in a modern European state? This is the story of the Holocaust.
