Lesson video

Hello, welcome to History, here at Oak National Academy.

My name's Mr. Newton, and I'll be your teacher today, guiding you through the entire lesson.

Right, let's get started.

In today's lesson, we're exploring how discrimination in Nazi Germany didn't start with violence or death camps.

It began with words, policies, and shifting public attitudes.

We'll examine how antisemitism, a prejudice that had existed for centuries, became official state policy, step-by-step.

We'll see how early actions like boycotts, propaganda, and legal restrictions laid the groundwork for something far more terrifying to come.

At the time, many people didn't know where this would lead.

Some hoped things would calm down, others ignored it.

Some even supported it.

By the end of this session, you will be able to describe how the Nazis' persecution of Jews changed between 1933 and 1939.

Before we begin, there are a few key words that we need to understand.

A conspiracy is a secret plan by a group to do something unlawful or harmful.

A boycott is a situation in which people refuse to buy, use, or do something because they do not approve of it.

Antisemitism is hate directed at Jewish people, or cruel or unfair treatment of people because they're Jewish.

Citizenship is the status of being a legal member of a country, and having rights and responsibilities because of it.

And a pogrom is an act of organized, cruel behavior or killing that is done to a large group of people because of their race or religion.

Today's lesson is called the "Persecution of Jews," and it's going to be split into three sections.

First, we'll look at the early years in the boycott and the gradual rise of antisemitic policy, discovering how antisemitic policy didn't begin all at once, but grew in small steps.

Then we'll move on to the Nuremberg Laws of 1935, where discrimination became officially written into law, reshaping what it meant to be a citizen in Germany.

Finally, we'll examine Kristallnacht, a night of extreme violence that shocked the world, and marked a significant turning point.

Right, let's begin the lesson with boycotts and the gradual rise of antisemitic policy.

In the early 1930s, Adolf Hitler and the Nazi regime believed that Germany could only rise again if it was racially pure.

Those who did not fit this ideal, Slavs, Roma and Sinti, people with disabilities, were seen as burdens.

But above all, the Nazis saw Jewish people as the root of Germany's problems. This idea didn't emerge out of nowhere.

Antisemitism had been widespread for centuries, not just in Germany, but across the world.

Many people believed that Jews controlled banks, the media, or secretly influenced governments.

Let's take a closer look at this Nazi propaganda poster.

The poster is titled, "Behind the Hostile Powers: The Jew." It depicts a Jewish man as a scheming businessman, lurking behind the flags of Britain, the United States, and the Soviet Union.

His appearance has been deliberately exaggerated to fit harmful antisemitic stereotypes.

For example, the hooked nose and the secretive expression.

The message being pushed here is that Jewish people were not just outsiders, but hidden manipulators, secretly controlling Germany's enemies during war time.

This is a clear example of how Nazi propaganda used visual imagery to spread fear and conspiracy theories, not just about Jews in Germany, but about Jews around the world.

This tapped into a widely-held conspiracy theory that Jews secretly controlled governments.

This imagery would have been persuasive to some people at the time.

In 1930s Germany, many lived with fear, uncertainty, and deep economic and political instability, conditions that made extreme ideas seem more believable.

And Germany was not alone in holding antisemitic beliefs.

Such views were widespread across the world.

What made Nazi Germany unique was that it placed antisemitism at the heart of state policy.

It was built into the laws and rules of the country.

Hitler had railed against Jews in his speeches and writings long before taking power, describing them as a parasite, mortal threats to the health of the nation.

He claimed Jews were engaged in a worldwide conspiracy to destroy Germany.

Yet when Hitler became chancellor in 1933, the Nazis didn't begin with mass murder.

Instead, discrimination unfolded slowly, and unpredictably.

Each new restriction felt like it might be the worst, encouraging hope that things wouldn't get worse.

Many Jews stayed in Germany, unwilling to leave their homeland.

Okay, let's have a check for understanding.

What belief did Hitler promote about Jewish people even before coming to power? A, they were Germany's strongest allies in international politics.

B, they were leading scientists and educators in Europe.

C, they were part of a worldwide conspiracy to destroy Germany.

D, they were primarily responsible for Germany's military victories.

Pause the video, have a think, and then come right back.

Okay, welcome back.

And well done if you knew the correct answer was C, they were part of a worldwide conspiracy to destroy Germany.

Okay, let's continue.

When Hitler became chancellor in 1933, the Nazis didn't start with violence or killing.

Instead, they introduced new rules and restrictions slowly, and not always in ways people, or even the Nazis themselves expected.

It's important to remember that at first, the Nazi grip on power wasn't total.

Hitler had to work with other political parties in the Reichstag.

There was still uncertainty even among the Nazis about what their Jewish policy would become.

They debated whether Jews should be excluded from society, pressured to emigrate, stripped of their rights, or subjected to escalating intimidation and force.

Since the Weimar period, political violence had been relatively common.

So in the early months of Nazi rule, SA men openly assaulted Jewish civilians, while antisemitic rhetoric filled Nazi newspapers.

But these actions drew some early international criticism.

The American Jewish Congress called for a boycott of German goods, and the Nazis retaliated.

On the 1st of April, 1933, the Nazis staged a boycott on Jewish goods.

SA stormtroopers stood outside Jewish shops, warning Germans not to enter.

Posters were pasted on storefronts, stating, "Don't buy from Jews." This marked the first coordinated, state-backed antisemitic action.

Take a look at this photo.

It was taken in Berlin when the Nazis launched their nationwide boycott of Jewish shops, doctors and businesses.

In the image, we can see a member of the SA, the Nazi paramilitary group, standing outside a Jewish-owned store.

His job was to intimidate customers and make sure no one went inside.

Painted on the window is a large Star of David to mark it as a Jewish business.

And a sign next to him says, "Germans, defend yourselves.

Don't buy from Jews." This was one of the Nazi's first public organized actions against Jews, not yet violent, but very visible.

It was meant to send a clear message that Jews were being separated from the rest of society.

Nonetheless, the boycotts fizzled out after a day.

Some Germans protested, or ignored it.

Others simply looked away.

Actually, what had happened was that Nazi leaders backed down, nervous about damaging foreign opinion, and Germany's fragile economy.

But it sent a clear message to the public.

Jews were no longer welcome.

This encouraged ordinary citizens to discriminate, and persecution slowly ratcheted up.

More laws followed.

Jewish civil servants were dismissed.

Doctors and lawyers were stripped of their licenses, and Jewish children were expelled from schools.

Okay, let's have a check for understanding.

What I want you to do here is complete this sentence with the correct missing word.

"The 1933 Nazi-led blank was the first coordinated state-backed antisemitic action.

During this protest, SA stormtroopers stood outside Jewish shops with signs telling Germans not to enter." Pause the video, fill in the blank, and then come right back.

Okay, welcome back.

Let's see how that sentence should have read.

"The 1933 Nazi-led boycott was the first coordinated state-backed antisemitic action.

During this protest, SA stormtroopers stood outside Jewish shops with signs telling Germans not to enter." Okay, great.

Let's move on to Task A.

So what I want you to do here is, working with your partner, discuss the following statements.

"The Nazis had a clear plan to persecute Jews from the very beginning." So there's your statement.

But I want you to make sure that your discussions include arguments in favor of the statement, and arguments against the statement.

So pause the video, have a go at the task, and then come right back.

Okay, welcome back.

And hopefully you had some great discussions there.

So you may have discussed some of the following.

So for your arguments in favor of the statement, "The Nazis had a clear plan to persecute Jews from the very beginning." You could have said something like, "The Nazi regime believed Germany needed to be racially pure, describing Jews as parasites and a danger to Germany.

And that Hitler had expressed antisemitic views long before taking power.

He claimed that Jews controlled banks and the media, and were secretly involved in a conspiracy.

And the fact that the Nazis quickly targeted Jews, street violence by the SA, propaganda in newspapers, laws dismissed Jewish civil servants, doctors and lawyers and Jewish children were expelled from schools.

And the fact that in 1933, the year the Nazis come to power, there was a boycott, which was the first coordinated state-backed antisemitic action, showing early planning.

And this normalized antisemitism and ordinary citizens soon joined in." However, there were arguments against the statement that the Nazis had a clear plan to persecute Jews from the very beginning.

And you could have discussed the fact that Hitler did not immediately begin with mass murder.

The extermination camps would come much later.

And in fact, persecution unfolded slowly and unpredictably, suggesting it didn't follow a set plan, but developed over time.

You could have also said that the Nazi leadership did not initially have a consistent or clear policy, that there was internal debate about whether Jews should be excluded from society, pressured to emigrate, stripped of their rights, or subjected to escalating intimidation and force.

And you could have said the fact that the 1933 April boycott was actually short-lived and disorganized, showing uncertainty.

And this was backed up by the fact that Nazi leaders were still cautious in 1933, especially due to concerns about foreign opinion and economic stability.

Great.

So we've just looked at how the Nazis used early boycotts, propaganda and public pressure to isolate Jewish people from everyday life.

At that stage, persecution was growing, but it hadn't yet been fully written into law.

Much of it came through pressure, propaganda, and local actions, not yet through a clear legal framework.

Now let's move on to the second part of our lesson, the Nuremberg Laws of 1935.

And this is the point where Nazi discrimination became legal, where being Jewish wasn't just socially dangerous, but a reason to be denied your rights as a citizen.

As the months passed, persecution escalated, Nazi leaders stirred public anger, encouraging ordinary citizens to treat Jews as outsiders.

By 1935, the regime was firmly in power.

Nazi leaders like Joseph Goebbels stirred up public anger, claiming that Jews were secretly plotting to disrupt German culture and society.

Signs began appearing across town, saying Jews are not wanted, and street violence increased.

We can see an example of one of these street signs on the left.

Shop fronts began displaying signs that read, "Jews not welcome," or "Only Aryans served here." Some towns even put up antisemitic slogans at their entrances.

On the streets, Jewish people faced growing hostility.

Some were shouted at, or insulted.

Others were attacked or beaten in public.

Most ordinary Germans either joined in, stayed silent, or looked away.

But all of this was starting to create tension, not just inside Germany, but internationally too.

There were protests in other countries, and growing criticism of Nazi actions.

So, seeking to restore order, and avoid more negative attention, Hitler acted.

In September, 1935, the Nuremberg Laws were announced.

Two key laws were announced at the Nuremberg Rally, and this is why they're collectively known as the Nuremberg Laws.

The first law, the Reich Citizenship Law, stated only people of German blood had full citizenship.

This stripped Jews of citizenship, denying them the vote and the right to hold office.

The second law, the Law for the Protection of German Blood and Honor, banned marriage and sexual relationships between Jews and Aryan Germans.

Let's take a look at this chart on the left.

It was used in Nazi Germany after the Nuremberg Laws were passed.

At first glance, it might just look like circles and symbols, but this chart had a powerful and dangerous purpose.

It was used to determine who counted as fully German, who was a person of mixed Jewish ancestry, and who was considered Jewish under Nazi law.

You can see how they broke people down by how many Jewish grandparents they had.

You could be classified as Jewish even if you didn't practice Judaism, or if you identified as German.

These categories weren't just labels.

They had real consequences.

Once classified, a person could be banned from voting, holding public office, marrying a non-Jewish German, or even keeping their job.

Officials across Germany were now required to enforce racial separation.

Family backgrounds were investigated as people were required to prove their Aryan status.

Anyone with two or more Jewish grandparents was now considered Jewish by law.

Children were taught to identify so-called Jewish features in their classmates, who were then pushed out of schools.

Former neighbors found themselves legally forbidden to marry.

Antisemitism was now part of everyday life and the law.

Even Germans who didn't consider themselves antisemitic began accepting these changes as normal.

Okay, let's have a check for understanding.

Which of the following statements describe the effects of the Nuremberg Laws announced in 1935? Select the correct answers.

A, Jews were allowed to vote in local, but not national elections.

B, Jews were stripped of German citizenship.

C, marriage between Jews and Aryan Germans was banned.

D, people with one Jewish grandparent were legally classified as Jewish.

Pause the video, have a think, and then come right back.

Okay, welcome back, and well done if you knew the correct answers were B, Jews were stripped of German citizenship, and C, marriage between Jews and Aryan Germans was banned.

Okay, let's continue.

So given all these tensions and antisemitic policies coming forward in Germany, some Jews tried to leave, but others held on, believing they were past the worst.

The Jews that remained in Germany opened their own schools, supported each other, and clung to the hope that Germany might come to its senses.

Victor Klemperer, who we can see in the photograph on the left, was a Jewish professor and First World War veteran, who chose to stay in Germany.

He believed his service and marriage to a non-Jewish woman might protect him, and that most Germans quietly disapproved of the Nazis, but were unwilling to resist.

Though deeply disillusioned with the regime, he clung to his identity as a German, and found comfort when other parts of life still seemed normal.

Briefly, it seemed he might be right.

During the 1936 Berlin Olympics, antisemitic signs came down, Jewish athletes reappeared, and the world was reassured, if only for a moment.

But this pause was part of the pattern.

Persecution came in waves.

Loud, then quiet, but always worse than before.

Many adjusted each time, each new line crossed becoming part of the new normal.

Okay, let's have a check for understanding.

What I want you to do here is complete these sentences with the correct missing words.

"Some Jews, like Victor blank, chose to stay in Germany, hoping conditions would improve.

Events like the 1936 blank created a temporary illusion of normality, but these moments were part of a pattern where each new stage of blank was followed by adjustments and acceptance, making brutality the new normal." Pause the video, fill in the blanks, and then come right back.

Okay, welcome back.

Let's see how those sentences should have read.

"Some Jews, like Victor Klemperer, chose to stay in Germany, hoping conditions would improve.

Events like the 1936 Olympics created a temporary illusion of normality that these moments were part of a pattern where each new stage of persecution was followed by adjustments and acceptance, making brutality the new normal." Okay, great.

Let's move on to Task B.

And we'll start this task by reading the source on the next slide.

And then what I want you to do is list all the different forms of antisemitic persecution or pressure that the source refers to.

So the source we're going to read here is a diary entry from a Jewish teacher, written around 1935.

"I remember the stormtroopers blocking the shops, and the silence of passersby.

Since then, things have quietly and steadily worsened.

I lost my job, my license to teach, and Clara and I are watched more closely.

I'm married to an Aryan.

Now our marriage is seen as something shameful and dangerous.

Half a marriage, half a citizen, and street signs reminding me I don't belong.

Still, I believe in Germany, or rather, I believe the old Germany will return.

Some flee, but we stay.

We still take walks and listen to music.

Friends murmur sympathy, but they do nothing.

Are they too scared to act? Or do they quietly agree with the restrictions? What I do know is this: The line keeps moving, and we keep adjusting." Okay, so what I want you to do is to list all of the antisemitic persecution and pressure that the source refers to.

Pause the video, have a go at the task, and then come right back.

Okay, welcome back, and well done for having a go at that task.

So there's many things that you may have listed, but compare your list with the one I have here.

So your list may include the quote from the source of "stormtroopers blocking the shops." And this obviously refers to the April 1933 boycott, where SA men stood outside Jewish-owned shops with antisemitic signs.

You could have mentioned about the "silence of passersby," and this shows that many ordinary Germans ignored, or tolerated early persecution.

And the bit about " lost my job," reflects the dismissal of Jewish civil servants, professionals and teachers, which escalated after the boycott.

And the "loss of license to teach," which links to Jews being stripped of the right to work, for example, doctors, lawyers, and teachers.

And the source also mentioned "our marriage is seen as something shameful," and this refers to the Nuremberg Laws in 1935, which outlawed marriage between Jews and Aryans.

And you may have continued your list with a reference to the quote about being "half a citizen." And this again refers to the Nuremberg Law, which removed Jews' full legal rights and citizenship.

Could have continued, talking about the "signs reminding me I don't belong." And this refers to the signs like "Jews not wanted," which appeared in towns after 1935.

And the bit about "friends murmur sympathy, but they do nothing." And this shows the lack of public resistance to Nazi policies, and evidence of fear and isolation within society.

And if you quoted, "the line keeps moving, and we keep adjusting." And this refers to the gradual escalation of antisemitic policy, and how each new restriction was accepted as the new normal.

Even Germans who didn't consider themselves antisemitic began accepting these changes.

And finally, the bit in the source which says, "Some flee, but we stay," shows how many Jews felt forced to emigrate, whilst many decided to stay, hoping each new restriction might be the final one.

So some people might have felt that they were over the worst and things could get better.

And this illustrates the gradual nature of persecution, gave the illusion of stability, encouraging people to stay, rather than flee.

So we followed the journey of how antisemitism in Nazi Germany moved from words and pressure to laws, and finally to violence.

We began with the 1933 boycott, and we've now seen how the Nuremberg Laws stripped Jews of citizenship and legal protection in 1935.

Let's now move on to the final part of the lesson, Kristallnacht in 1938.

The night of the destruction and terror that marked a clear turning point.

So by 1938, rising tensions had escalated into an assassination at the German embassy in Paris.

And we can see a painting of the assassination on the left.

So why did this assassination happen? Three years after the introduction of the Nuremberg Laws, the situation had deteriorated.

Hitler believed that a war in Europe was becoming unavoidable.

This is what would become the Second World War.

So Hitler wanted to take drastic action against Jews before that war began.

He now demanded Jews be pushed out of Germany entirely.

Jewish professionals were banned, their businesses Aryanized, in other words, transferred to non-Jews.

And even their names changed.

Israel and Sara were added to identify Jewish people on documents, and their passports were stamped with a red J.

In November, 1938, a desperate young Jewish man living in Paris learned his family had been expelled from Germany.

In despair and rage, he shot and killed a German diplomat in the Paris Embassy.

Okay, let's have a check for understanding.

Complete this sentence with the correct missing word.

"In November, 1938, a young Jewish man in Paris shot a German blank after learning his family had been expelled from Germany." Pause the video, fill in the blank, and then come right back.

Okay, welcome back.

Let's see how that sentence should have read.

"In November, 1938, a young Jewish man in Paris shot a German diplomat after learning his family had been expelled from Germany." The Nazis seized on the assassination.

Hitler ordered a nationwide pogrom, which became known as Kristallnacht.

The pogrom was aiming to terrify Jews into fleeing Germany.

To make the violence appear spontaneous, and driven by public outrage, SS men wore civilian clothes.

Police were instructed not to intervene, unless non-Jewish German property was endangered.

On the night of 9th of November, 1938, the streets of Germany lit up with fire.

Synagogues burned across the country, Jewish homes were ransacked, shops were smashed, windows shattered onto pavements.

Germans soon referred to the chaos as the Kristallnacht, or in English, Night of Broken Glass.

Take a look at the photo on the left.

It shows the smashed windows of a Jewish-owned shop during the Night of Broken Glass.

You can see the damage clearly, the glass shattered across the pavement, and we can see people walking by, stopping to look.

This was just one of thousands of businesses, homes, and synagogues targeted across Germany and Austria during this night of organized violence.

It wasn't random or spontaneous.

It was planned and ordered by the Nazi leadership.

What's also powerful about this image is the bystanders, ordinary people were observing the destruction.

At least 91 Jews were murdered during the violence, and 30,000 Jewish men were arrested, and sent to concentration camps.

Insurance companies were forbidden to pay damages to Jewish victims. Instead, the Nazi regime fined Germany's Jewish community one billion Reichsmarks, forcing them to pay for the destruction wrought against them.

In Britain and the US, newspapers reported the violence that had occurred.

The photo on the left shows the inside of a synagogue that was burned during Kristallnacht.

And this demonstrates that the destruction wasn't just limited to shops and homes.

That synagogues, which were the center of Jewish religious and community life were also targeted and destroyed across Germany and Austria.

Images and reports of the Kristallnacht's destruction shocked people around the world.

In Britain, newspapers like The Times and The Manchester Guardian ran front page stories describing organized terror and mob violence.

They published disturbing details, broken windows, looted shops, arrests, and burned buildings like the one you see here.

For many Jews in Germany, Kristallnacht was the final warning.

Those who could, fled the country, some 80,000 over the following months.

Others remained, unable to leave, or unwilling to abandon homes and families.

Okay, let's have a check for understanding.

Why is Kristallnacht described as a pogrom? A, it was a military response to a Jewish uprising.

B, it was a peaceful protest against Jewish businesses.

C, it was a state-organized attack targeting Jewish communities.

D, it was a random outbreak of violence with no official involvement.

Pause the video, have a think, and then come right back.

Okay, welcome back, and well done if you knew that Kristallnacht was described as a pogrom because C, it was a state-organized attack targeting Jewish communities.

In 1939, Nazi policy shifted to forced emigration.

And soon after, Hitler issued a chilling warning.

So the Nazis created the Reich Center for Jewish Emigration, and this was tasked with pushing the remaining Jews out of Germany.

And just weeks later, and months before the outbreak of the Second World War, Hitler delivered a speech to the Reichstag.

And the photo on the left shows Adolf Hitler addressing the Reichstag during the period.

Look closely how the Reichstag has been converted into a Nazi arena.

The Nazi eagle looms above Hitler.

The swastikas dominate the walls, and almost everyone in the chamber is giving the Nazi salute.

This photo shows not just a political speech, it's a display of total power and unity behind Hitler's ideas.

And it's in this setting that Hitler issued a terrifying warning.

He declared that when he had once predicted he would lead Germany, the Jews had laughed at him.

And he warned that if Jews around the world, whom he believes controlled international finance, succeeded in starting another world war, it would not bring Jewish victory, but the elimination of the Jewish race in Europe.

The Second World War began in September, 1939.

And as the conflict spread, so did the Nazis' persecution.

By the mid-1940s, as Allied forces advanced and liberated camps, the full scale of the crime was revealed.

Six million Jews were murdered in the Holocaust, by firing squads, forced labor, starvation, and extermination camps.

Okay, let's have a check for understanding.

What did Hitler claim in his January 1939 speech to the Reichstag? A, that a world war would lead to the elimination of the Jewish race in Europe.

B, that Jewish people were responsible for Germany's military strength.

C, that the Nazis had no interest in expanding their policies beyond Germany.

Pause the video, have a think, and then come right back.

Okay, welcome back, and well done if you knew the correct answer was A, that a world war would lead to the elimination of the Jewish race in Europe.

Okay, let's move on to the final task, Task C.

And what I want you to do here is explain how Nazi persecution of Jews changed between 1933 and 1939.

And I want you to write this in two paragraphs.

Paragraph one should be on the 1933 boycotts, and the gradual rise of antisemitic policy and the Nuremberg Laws.

And then paragraph two should be on Kristallnacht and its aftermath.

So use all the knowledge you've gained from today's lesson to write two detailed paragraphs, explaining how Nazi persecution of Jews changed between 1933 and 1939.

Pause the video, have a go at the task, and then come right back.

Okay, welcome back, and well done for having a go at that task.

So there's many ways that you could have written your paragraphs, but compare your answers with the ones I have here.

So for the first paragraph you may have answered, "Between 1933 and 1935, Nazi persecution of Jews developed gradually.

The regime was still gaining control, and there was no clear plan at first.

In April, 1933, the Nazis organized a boycott of Jewish shops using SA stormtroopers to intimidate customers.

Although it lasted only a day, it sent a clear message that Jews were no longer welcome.

After this, more laws followed.

Jewish civil servants, doctors and lawyers were removed from their jobs, and Jewish children were forced out of schools.

By 1935, this discrimination became law through the Nuremberg Laws.

Jews lost their citizenship and were banned from marrying Aryan Germans.

These laws encouraged officials to enforce racial separation and helped normalize antisemitism among ordinary Germans, making discrimination feel like part of everyday life." And for your second paragraph, you may have answered, "By 1938, Nazi persecution had intensified.

Jewish professionals were banned, their businesses taken over, and they were forced to adopt identifying names.

In 1938, Kristallnacht became a major turning point.

After a Jewish man killed a German diplomat, the Nazis responded with a violent pogrom.

SS men in civilian clothes destroyed synagogues, homes and shops.

Over 90 Jews were murdered, and 30,000 Jewish men were arrested and sent to concentration camps.

The Jewish community was collectively fined for the destruction.

This marked a shift from persecution by law to physical terror.

After this, many Jews fled the country.

And in early 1939, the Nazis created the Reich Center for Jewish Emigration to push out the rest.

The persecution had escalated, and Hitler now warned that Jews would be eliminated in Europe." Okay, let's summarize today's lesson, "The Persecution of Jews." Nazi antisemitism framed Jews as a conspiracy threatening Germany, accusing them of controlling banks and the media.

The 1933 boycott of Jewish shops marked early state-backed antisemitism and aimed to normalize exclusion.

Jews were stripped of jobs, education, and citizenship through escalating laws like the Nuremberg Laws of 1935.

Kristallnacht in 1938 was a violent pogrom that shifted persecution from legal oppression to physical terror.

Many Jews fled, but others stayed, hoping persecution would end.

Antisemitism became an everyday reality.

Well done, everyone.

And today we've traced how persecution in Nazi Germany didn't happen all at once.

It unfolded step by step.

And what's striking is how ordinary many of these steps seemed to some people at the time.

A poster, a law, a broken window.

And yet together, they built a system of fear and exclusion.

This history challenges us to think about how people respond when others are treated unfairly.

Who notices, who challenges it, and who chooses to look away.

See you next time.