--- title: "Nuremberg Laws — AP Euro Definition & Exam Guide" description: "The Nuremberg Laws (1935) were Nazi Germany's racial laws stripping Jews of citizenship. Key for AP Euro Unit 8, the Holocaust, and Nazi escalation questions." canonical: "https://fiveable.me/ap-euro/key-terms/nuremberg-laws" type: "key-term" subject: "AP European History" unit: "Unit 8" --- # Nuremberg Laws — AP Euro Definition & Exam Guide ## Definition The Nuremberg Laws (1935) were Nazi Germany's antisemitic laws that defined Jewish identity by ancestry, stripped Jews of German citizenship, and banned marriage between Jews and 'German blood' persons, turning Nazi racial ideology into state law and setting the legal stage for the Holocaust. ## What It Is The Nuremberg Laws were two laws [Hitler](/ap-euro/key-terms/hitler "fv-autolink")'s regime announced at the 1935 Nazi Party rally in Nuremberg. The Reich Citizenship Law stripped Jews of German citizenship, demoting them to 'subjects' with no political rights. The Law for the Protection of German Blood and German Honor banned marriage and sexual relations between Jews and people of 'German or related blood.' Crucially, the laws defined who counted as Jewish by ancestry (your grandparents), not by religious practice. You could be a baptized Christian and still be legally Jewish under Nazi law. For [AP Euro](/ap-euro "fv-autolink"), the big idea is that the Nuremberg Laws made antisemitism *legal and bureaucratic*. Before 1935, Nazi persecution was harassment and boycotts. After 1935, it was written into the citizenship code itself. This is the moment Nazi Germany's 'new [racial order](/ap-euro/unit-8/holocaust/study-guide/GberF4FVZwo2JZ1WpZDT "fv-autolink")' (KC-4.1.III.D) stopped being just ideology and became state policy, the first major legal step on the road that ran through Kristallnacht (1938) to the Holocaust. ## Why It Matters The Nuremberg Laws live in [Unit 8](/ap-euro/unit-8 "fv-autolink") (20th-Century Global Conflicts), bridging Topic 8.1 and Topic 8.9. They support 8.1.A, explaining the context for global conflict, because they show how interwar fascism and [extreme nationalism](/ap-euro/key-terms/extreme-nationalism "fv-autolink") (KC-4.1.III) translated into actual governance. They also support 8.9.A, which asks you to explain how national and cultural identities were reshaped by fascist and totalitarian powers. The laws literally redefined who could *be* German, redrawing national identity along racial lines. The CED is explicit that Nazi Germany sought a 'new racial order' that culminated in the Holocaust, and the Nuremberg Laws are your best concrete evidence for the legal phase of that process. If an exam question asks how persecution escalated step by step, this is your 1935 data point. ## Connections ### Kristallnacht (Unit 8) Think of these as two stages of escalation. The Nuremberg Laws (1935) were persecution by paperwork, while Kristallnacht (1938) was persecution by mob violence. Exam questions love asking you to sequence this shift from legal discrimination to organized [terror](/ap-euro/key-terms/terror "fv-autolink"). ### Holocaust (Unit 8) The Nuremberg Laws built the legal machinery the Holocaust ran on. Defining Jewishness by ancestry created the categories the Nazis later used to identify, deport, and murder European Jews, which is why historians call the laws a critical turning point rather than just another antisemitic policy. ### [Anti-Semitism (Units 7-8)](/ap-euro/key-terms/anti-semitism) Antisemitism was centuries old in Europe, but the Nuremberg Laws show what changed under the Nazis. Older prejudice was often religious, where conversion offered an out. Nazi antisemitism was racial and biological, so under these laws there was no escape through baptism or assimilation. ### [Adolf Hitler (Unit 8)](/ap-euro/key-terms/adolf-hitler) The laws show Hitler converting the racial [ideology](/ap-euro/key-terms/ideology "fv-autolink") of Mein Kampf into state policy just two years after taking power in 1933. They're prime evidence for how totalitarian regimes used law itself as a tool of persecution, not just secret police and violence. ## On the AP Exam Multiple-choice questions typically test the Nuremberg Laws in two ways. First, identification within Nazi ideology, asking which aspect of Nazism the laws represent (answer: racial antisemitism and the construction of a 'new racial order'). Second, escalation and sequencing, asking why the laws were a turning point or how Nazi policy moved from legal discrimination (1935) to organized violence at Kristallnacht (1938) to genocide. No released FRQ has used the term verbatim, but it's strong specific evidence for an LEQ or DBQ on fascism, totalitarianism, or the causes and course of the Holocaust. The move that earns points is precision. Don't just say 'the Nazis persecuted Jews.' Say the 1935 Nuremberg Laws stripped Jews of citizenship and defined Jewish identity by ancestry, then use that to argue escalation over time. ## Nuremberg Laws vs Kristallnacht Both are pre-war Nazi persecution, but they're different phases. The Nuremberg Laws (1935) were *legal* discrimination, written statutes stripping citizenship and banning intermarriage. Kristallnacht (November 1938) was *physical* violence, a state-orchestrated pogrom that destroyed synagogues, Jewish businesses, and homes. If a question asks about the shift from law to violence, Nuremberg is the 'before' and Kristallnacht is the 'after.' ## Key Takeaways - The Nuremberg Laws were enacted in 1935 and stripped German Jews of citizenship while banning marriage and sexual relations between Jews and people of 'German or related blood.' - The laws defined Jewishness by ancestry rather than religious practice, which made Nazi antisemitism racial and inescapable rather than religious. - They marked the turning point where Nazi antisemitic ideology became official state law, the legal foundation of the 'new racial order' described in KC-4.1.III.D. - On the exam, use the Nuremberg Laws as evidence of escalation, moving from legal discrimination in 1935 to violence at Kristallnacht in 1938 to genocide during the Holocaust. - The laws connect Topic 8.1 (interwar fascism and extreme nationalism) to Topic 8.9 (the Holocaust), making them useful evidence for arguments about how totalitarian regimes reshaped national identity. ## FAQs ### What were the Nuremberg Laws in AP Euro? The Nuremberg Laws were two 1935 Nazi laws that stripped Jews of German [citizenship](/ap-euro/key-terms/citizenship "fv-autolink") and banned marriage between Jews and 'German blood' persons, defining Jewish identity by ancestry. In AP Euro they're tested as the legal turning point in Nazi persecution leading toward the Holocaust (Topics 8.1 and 8.9). ### Did the Nuremberg Laws start the Holocaust? Not directly. The laws didn't order killing; they were legal discrimination. But they created the racial categories and citizenship-stripping framework that made the Holocaust bureaucratically possible, which is why the AP exam treats them as a critical step in the escalation toward genocide. ### How are the Nuremberg Laws different from Kristallnacht? The Nuremberg Laws (1935) were written legal discrimination, while Kristallnacht (1938) was a state-organized night of violence against Jewish synagogues, businesses, and homes. Exam questions use the pair to test the shift from legal persecution to organized violence in Nazi Germany. ### Who was considered Jewish under the Nuremberg Laws? Jewishness was defined by ancestry, generally based on having Jewish grandparents, not by religious belief or practice. A converted Christian with Jewish grandparents was still legally Jewish, which shows the racial (not religious) nature of Nazi antisemitism. ### Why are the Nuremberg Laws important for the AP Euro exam? They're your most concrete evidence for Nazi Germany's 'new racial order' (KC-4.1.III.D) and for learning objective 8.9.A on how fascist powers reshaped national identity. They show up in multiple-choice questions about Nazi ideology and escalation, and they make strong specific evidence in LEQs and DBQs on totalitarianism or the Holocaust. ## Related Study Guides - [8.9 The Holocaust](/ap-euro/unit-8/holocaust/study-guide/GberF4FVZwo2JZ1WpZDT) ## Structured Data ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"LearningResource","@id":"https://fiveable.me/ap-euro/key-terms/nuremberg-laws#resource","name":"Nuremberg Laws — AP Euro Definition & Exam Guide","url":"https://fiveable.me/ap-euro/key-terms/nuremberg-laws","learningResourceType":"Concept explainer","educationalLevel":"AP® / High School","about":{"@id":"https://fiveable.me/ap-euro/key-terms/nuremberg-laws#term"},"audience":{"@type":"EducationalAudience","educationalRole":"student"},"dateModified":"2026-06-11T00:49:30.589Z","isPartOf":{"@type":"Collection","name":"AP European History Key Terms","url":"https://fiveable.me/ap-euro/key-terms"},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Fiveable","url":"https://fiveable.me"}},{"@type":"DefinedTerm","@id":"https://fiveable.me/ap-euro/key-terms/nuremberg-laws#term","name":"Nuremberg Laws","description":"The Nuremberg Laws (1935) were Nazi Germany's antisemitic laws that defined Jewish identity by ancestry, stripped Jews of German citizenship, and banned marriage between Jews and 'German blood' persons, turning Nazi racial ideology into state law and setting the legal stage for the Holocaust.","url":"https://fiveable.me/ap-euro/key-terms/nuremberg-laws","inDefinedTermSet":{"@type":"DefinedTermSet","name":"AP European History Key Terms","url":"https://fiveable.me/ap-euro/key-terms"},"educationalAlignment":[{"@type":"AlignmentObject","alignmentType":"educationalSubject","educationalFramework":"AP® Course and Exam Description","targetName":"AP® Euro Unit 8, Topic 8.9, LO 8.9.A"},{"@type":"AlignmentObject","alignmentType":"educationalSubject","educationalFramework":"AP® Course and Exam Description","targetName":"AP® Euro Unit 8, Topic 8.1, LO 8.1.A"}]},{"@type":"FAQPage","mainEntity":[{"@type":"Question","name":"What were the Nuremberg Laws in AP Euro?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"The Nuremberg Laws were two 1935 Nazi laws that stripped Jews of German [citizenship](/ap-euro/key-terms/citizenship \"fv-autolink\") and banned marriage between Jews and 'German blood' persons, defining Jewish identity by ancestry. 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