The legislative definition of the term “Jew” in the Second Czecho-Slovak Republic,First Slovak Republic and Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia,1938-4 Cover Image

Legislatívne vymedzenie pojmu Žid v II. Česko-Slovenskej republike, I. Slovenskej republike a Protektoráte Čechy a Morava v rokoch 1938-1942
The legislative definition of the term “Jew” in the Second Czecho-Slovak Republic,First Slovak Republic and Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia,1938-4

Author(s): Ján Drgo
Subject(s): History
Published by: Historický ústav SAV
Keywords: Jew Person of partly Jewish origin;Second Czecho-Slovak Republic; First Slovak Republic; Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia; Confessional definition; Nuremberg Laws;

Summary/Abstract: The legislative definition of the term “Jew” in the Second Czecho-Slovak Republic, First Slovak Republic and Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia, 1938 – 1942 The article with several chapters is concerned with the gradually increasing strictness of anti-Jewish legislation using the example of the legislative definition of the term “Jew” in the legal systems of the Second Czecho-Slovak Republic, Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia and First Slovak Republic. The individual chapters are concerned mainly with the gradual deviation from the original definition given by confessional and nationality criteria to definitions already directly influenced by the German model. We point to the fact that in contrast to the original attempts to define the term Jew on a confessional or nationality basis, which was determined mainly by the existing tradition of anti-Judaism in Czech and Slovak society, the introduction of the so-called Nuremberg definition was a result of the effort of Germany to get others to copy its own anti-Jewish legislation based on the nonsensical idea of the racial distinctness of the Jewish community. This had a much more drastic impact on the Jewish community in our territory. We pay particular attention to government decree no. 63/1939 Sl. z. on definition of the term “Jew” and setting of the number of Jews in some of the free professions, decree no. 198/1941 Sl. z. on the legal position of Jews, government decree no. 136/1940 Sb. z. a n. on the legal position of Jews in public life and finally government decree no. 85/1942 Sb. z. a n., which issued further legal norms on Jews and people of partly Jewish origin.

  • Issue Year: 2014
  • Issue No: 02
  • Page Range: 303-323
  • Page Count: 21
  • Language: Slovak