Holocaust History Archived Page

Jewish Lawyers Banned
September 27, 1938

Regulation No. 5 to the Citizenship Law banned Jewish lawyers from the profession. Only a small proportion of these lawyers were allowed to work in providing legal counsel, and only for Jewish clients.

This sort of behavior and prejudice was apparent all over Germany in the 1930’s and was finally made into a decree that prohibited Jewish lawyers from practicing at all. 

PARTIAL TRANSLATION OF DOCUMENT 2874-PS
1938 REICHSGESETZBLATT, PART I, NO. 165, PAGE 1403.

Fifth Decree to the law relating to the Reich Citizenship of 27 September 1938.

Article I. 
Elimination of the Jews from the Bar (Attorneyship).

Section 1.
Jews are excluded from the profession of a lawyer. In as much as Jews are still lawyers they are to be eliminated from the bar pursuant to the following provisions:

Old Reich

a. Within the Territory :
The admission of Jewish lawyers to the bar is to be discontinued as from 10 November 1938.

b. Within the country of Austria :
1. On order of the Reich-Minister of Justice Jewish lawyers have to be taken off the roster of lawyers until 31 December 1938 at the latest.

2. Jews, however, who are entered on the roster of the Chamber of Lawyers [Reichs-anwaltskammer i.e. Bar Association] in Vienna, whose family has been resident in Austria at least 50 years and which, have been fighting in the front-line may be exempted from the deletion for the time being. In this case the movement of deletion will be determined by the Minister of Justice.

3. The Reich Minister of Justice may forbid a lawyer to exercise his profession .for the time being, until it will be decided, whether a deletion from the roster of lawyers will be effected.


Signatories :

The Fuehrer and Reich-Chancellor, Adolf Hitler

The Reich Minister of Justice, Dr. Guertner

The Reich Minister of Interior, Frick

The Deputy, of the Fuehrer , R. Hess

The Reich Minister of Finance, (in the name of Reinhardt)



Photograph: “Don’t go to Jewish lawyers” Warnings on red paper read: “Visits prohibited! Jew!” Signs were pasted the doorplates of Jewish lawyers’ offices, here in Munich at the Stachus.