Final answer:
The first major German government policy persecuting Jews was the Nuremberg Laws enacted in 1935, which laid the foundation for the systemic persecution and dehumanization of Jewish people.
Step-by-step explanation:
The First Major German Policy Persecuting Jews
The first major German government policy persecuting the Jews was the implementation of the Nuremberg Laws in 1935. These laws institutionalized racial discrimination by revoking the citizenship of Jewish people, prohibiting marriages between Jews and non-Jews, and banning Jews from various professions. These anti-Semitic laws laid the groundwork for escalating persecution, ultimately leading to the Holocaust.
The Nuremberg Laws effectively delegitimized Jews in the national community, stripping them of their civil rights and personal dignity. Jews were defined based on their grandparents' religious affiliations, creating an us-versus-them dichotomy within German society.
Subsequently, policies like the 'Reich Flight Tax' and a property registration requirement aimed to expropriate Jewish wealth, a process known as Aryanization. This era marked the beginning of a series of draconian measures against Jews, culminating in events such as Kristallnacht and eventually leading to the Holocaust's more dire policy, the Final Solution.