German Blood Certificate

A German Blood Certificate (Deutschblütigkeitserklärung) was a document provided by Hitler to Mischlinge (those with partial Jewish heritage), declaring them deutschblütig (of German blood). This practice was begun sometime after the Nuremberg Laws of 1935, and allowed exemption from most of Germany's racial laws. The certificate was conditional, and had a clause stating that it would be reconsidered after the cessation of hostilities.

Mischling is a term used during the Third Reich era in Germany to denote persons deemed to have partial Jewish ancestry. This word literally means “mixed”.

In order to join the Nazi party and get a certificate, the candidate had to prove through baptismal records that all direct ancestors born since 1750 were not Jewish, or they could apply for a German Blood Certificate.

These certificates were 300 mm (11¾ in) by 210 mm (8¼ in), with a signature on the front and the red seal of the Office of Racial Research of the Nazi Party. The back listed the ancestry of the individual concerned, back to the grandparents of the father and the mother.

The Nuremberg Laws, also known as the Anti-Jewish laws, were statutes created in Germany for the purpose of maintaining blood purity of the Aryan race. The laws indicating the necessity of obtaining a German Blood Certificate were implemented at the time relationships between Aryan and Jews were outlawed. German Blood Certificates were documentations that classified who was of "German or related blood". Aryans could face a prison sentence if they were to go against the established laws. Aryan and Jewish families already married with children were labeled as Mischling, and thus were encouraged to divorce. Such relationships were deemed as "blood treason". The Nuremberg Laws did not define people as Jewish by cultural values, but rather looked at how many generations of Jewish grandparents were before them. Specifically, those who had three or four generations of Jewish grandparents were considered Jews, despite any conversions to Christianity. Jews were seen as an inferior race by the Nazis, thus they saw the need to segregate the Jews from the German community. As a result of the Nuremberg Laws, Jewish people were denied German citizenship even though Germany was their homeland. The establishment of the Nuremberg Laws paved the path towards the Holocaust.

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