The term Halbjude (English: Half-Jew) is a derogatory term for people with a non-Jewish and a Jewish parent. The overwhelming majority of the so-called half-Jews were legally classified as " first-degree Jewish hybrids" during the era of Nazi Germany. Occasionally, the term was used even before the Nazi era. Within

Judaism Judaism ( he, ''Yahăḏūṯ'') is an Abrahamic, monotheistic, and ethnic religion comprising the collective religious, cultural, and legal tradition and civilization of the Jewish people. It has its roots as an organized religion in the ...

the term half Jew is unusual, since it does not recognize any partial degrees of Judaism; one can either be Jewish or not.

Situation within the German Reich

During the Nazi era, half-Jews was not a legal term. The term was not used in the

Nuremberg Race Laws The racial policy of Nazi Germany was a set of policies and laws implemented in Nazi Germany under the dictatorship of Adolf Hitler, based on a specific racist doctrine asserting the superiority of the Aryan race, which claimed scientific legi ...

and the related ordinances. In 1941 the word half-Jew was included in the

Duden The Duden () is a dictionary of the Standard High German language, first published by Konrad Duden in 1880, and later by Bibliographisches Institut GmbH. The Duden is updated regularly with new editions appearing every four or five years. , i ...

for the first time: the group of " Jewish half-breeds" was further divided into "Jewish half-breeds of the first degree" with two Jewish grandparents and "Jewish half-breeds of the second degree" with one Jewish grandparent. However, first-degree hybrids were classified in different categories, despite the assumption of the same "biological-racial ancestry". They were not regarded as "hybrids" but as "full Jews" if they belonged to the Jewish religious community, were married to a Jew or married a Jew after 1935. The term "

Geltungsjude Geltungsjude was the term for people who were considered Jews by the first supplementary decree to the Nuremberg Laws from 14 November 1935. The term was not used officially, but was coined because the persons were deemed (''gelten'' in German) J ...

" was later coined for this group of "half-Jews". This differentiated classification, which is blurred by the term "Halbjude", was of existential importance for those affected. If they were classified unfavourably, they were not admitted to university; they were forced to work at an early stage or were refused a marriage permit. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, in marital union with a "full Jew", "half-Jews" classified as "Jews of Geltungsjuden" were deported with their spouses to

ghettos A ghetto, often called ''the'' ghetto, is a part of a city in which members of a minority group live, especially as a result of political, social, legal, environmental or economic pressure. Ghettos are often known for being more impoverished t ...

extermination camps Nazi Germany used six extermination camps (german: Vernichtungslager), also called death camps (), or killing centers (), in Central Europe during World War II to systematically murder over 2.7 million peoplemostly Jewsin the Holocaust. The v ...

. This danger also threatened "half-Jewish" children if the non-Jewish spouse had converted to the Jewish faith, and even if the spouses separated again to spare the children persecution. The Nazi Party tried - as discussed at the Wannsee Conference - to classify all "half-Jews" legally as "full Jews" and to

deport Deportation is the expulsion of a person or group of people from a place or country. The term ''expulsion'' is often used as a synonym for deportation, though expulsion is more often used in the context of international law, while deportation ...

them. The fact that many "half-Jews" were also "half-Christians" was always ignored.

Situation in the Occupied Territories

In the occupied Eastern territories, "half-Jews" were included in the extermination process indiscriminately like "full Jews". The Jewish Department at the

Reich Security Main Office The Reich Security Main Office (german: Reichssicherheitshauptamt or RSHA) was an organization under Heinrich Himmler in his dual capacity as ''Chef der Deutschen Polizei'' (Chief of German Police) and ''Reichsführer-SS'', the head of the Nazi ...

attempted to influence the controversial decision-making process within the Reich by also creating facts in the Western occupation areas. In August 1941

Adolf Eichmann Otto Adolf Eichmann ( ,"Eichmann"
''

Arthur Seyß-Inquart Arthur Seyss-Inquart (German: Seyß-Inquart, ; 22 July 1892 16 October 1946) was an Austrian Austrian National Socialism, Nazi politician who served as Chancellor of Austria in 1938 for two days before the ''Anschluss''. His positions in Nazi Ge ...

, decided to equate the "half-Jews" living in the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

with the "full Jews" and to deport them. As of May 1942, "half-Jews" were also obliged to wear the Jewish star there.

Term after 1945

The term "Halbjude" was used by various people, even after the war. This led to Ignaz Bubis criticising it in 1999: The use of the term Halbjude has also established itself in the English-speaking world as "half-Jewish" or "part-Jewish", whereby the term "Beta Gershom" is already mentioned in the Bible. In other languages, the word "Father-Jew", introduced by

Andreas Burnier Andreas Burnier, born Catharina Irma Dessaur (3 July 1931 – 18 September 2002) was a Dutch writer. Burnier has published poetry, lectures, books and articles, many of which address homosexuality, in order to emphasize women's problems in a male ...

in 1995, has since spread, marking the fact that the father is a Jew, but not the mother. This term is related to the provisions of the

Halakha ''Halakha'' (; he, הֲלָכָה, ), also transliterated as ''halacha'', ''halakhah'', and ''halocho'' ( ), is the collective body of Jewish religious laws which is derived from the written and Oral Torah. Halakha is based on biblical commandm ...

, according to which Jewish religious affiliation is usually derived by birth from a Jewish mother.

Earlier history of the term

There are few places where the term "Halbjude" is used historically. The unpopular ruler Herod was insulted as a "half-Jew" because his family came from Idumäa, an area that had been forcibly converted to Judaism. Since he was crowned king of Judea by Rome, the term "half-Jewish" can be interpreted as a vague, derogatory term for "Jew, but not serving Jewish interests". In 1881, the anti-Semite

Eugen Dühring Eugen Karl Dühring (12 January 1833, Berlin21 September 1921, Nowawes in modern-day Potsdam-Babelsberg) was a German philosopher, positivist, economist, and socialist who was a strong critic of Marxism. Life and works Dühring was born in Berl ...

clearly used the term as a derogatory hereditary biological term in his pamphlet ''The Jewish Question As a Racial, Moral and Cultural Question''.{{Cite book, title=Vokabular des Nationalsozialismus, last=Schmitz-Berning, first=Cornelia, publisher=Walter de Gruyter, year=1998, isbn=3-11-016888-X, location=Berlin, pages=292

References

Nazi terminology The Holocaust