On this day, 18 March 1938, the German Nazi party introduced new gun laws. Right-wing US pro-gun advocates frequently claim that supposedly strict laws were introduced to disarm the population which then helped enable the Holocaust. But in reality the new legislation was a relaxation of the previous, stricter rules of the Weimar Republic in 1928, especially in terms of purchase, carrying and transfer of weapons. And they were much less restrictive than the previous 1919 German law which completely prohibited the possession of firearms.
A few months later, on November 11, 1938, Hitler imposed further regulations to confiscate weapons, including guns, as well as knives and batons, held by Jewish people. Although it is worth noting that the Weimar Republic already forbade “Gypsies” (Roma and Sinti people) from owning guns.
The 1928 law required a licence for buying or transferring any firearm or ammunition. The Nazi law abolished all regulation of rifles, shotguns and ammunition, and instead just required a licence for handguns. It also established exceptions, extending licences to children and enabling many more people to own guns without a licence, including hunters, government workers and Nazi party members.
So while it is true to state that the Nazis did disarm Jewish people, most claims from right-wingers about Hitler being an advocate of gun-control are false. Similar claims that these laws enabled the Holocaust to take place are also false, as the number of German Jews was far too small to have been able to resist the Nazi military might, even if they had all possessed guns. And most of those killed in the Holocaust were not even German Jews covered by 1938 law in any case.
And contrary to their stated objectives, the US National Rifle Association has previously supported gun-control laws in order to disarm Black Americans.
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