ABSTRACT
When Hitler took power in 1933, Germany was economically and militarily weak. The Nazis were also convinced that they were dealing, not with a small population of German Jews but with a large, powerful Jewish conspiracy of which German Jews were but a part. Therefore, initial steps against German Jews were conditioned by what was-for the Nazis-moderation. As the state became more economically and militarily secure, it ratcheted up anti-Jewish measures. Physical annihilation was not yet state policy.
