Initiatives, Actors, and Environment: The Münster City Council and “Jewish Policy” in the National Socialist State

摘要

German local government showed great continuity from before 1933 to well after 1945, but its leaders have been considered responsible for National Socialism only rarely: city councils did not initiate the Holocaust. Nevertheless, local authorities formed part of the National Socialist system of discrimination, oppression, and terror. This article examines the government of Münster to explain its role in the persecution of the Jews, focusing on the expropriation of property. The author demonstrates that although the Münster City Council was less Nazified than others, it not only carried out central initiatives but also undertook acts of plunder on its own. Her analysis shows that local authorities often determined the day-to-day persecution of Jews more than did legal provisions emanating from the highest levels of government.