Holidays in Nazi Germany were primarily centred on important political events, serving as a form of political education and reinforcing propaganda themes.[1] Major national holidays were therefore controlled by Joseph Goebbels at the Reich Propaganda Ministry, and were often accompanied by mass meetings, parades, speeches and radio broadcasts.[1]
Many of the official national holidays in the Third Reich were anniversaries of political events, namely the seizure of power (January 30), the announcement of the Nazi Party program in 1920 (24 February), Hitler's birthday (20 April) and the Beer Hall Putsch (9 November). Others were traditional German holidays. Heroes' Memorial Day was celebrated on 16 March, National Labour Day on 1 May, Mother's Day in May, Summer Solstice in June, Harvest Thanksgiving in Autumn and Winter Solstice in December.[2]
From 1937, Jews were banned from the streets during German public holidays.[3]
Holiday
Local Name
Date
New Year's Day
Neujahr
1 January
Heroes' Memorial Day
Heldengedenktag
16 March if it was a Sunday, otherwise the Sunday before 16 March
from 1939, the 5th Sunday before Easter (Reminiscere)
Good Friday
Karfreitag
Easter Sunday - 2 days
Easter Monday
Ostermontag
Easter Sunday + 1 day
Birthday of the Führer
Führergeburtstag
20 April
celebrated from 1933 to 1944, declared national holiday for Hitler's 50th birthday in 1939[4]
Labour Day
Nationaler Feiertag des deutschen Volkes
1 May
since 1934. Introduced in 1933 as "Feiertag der nationalen Arbeit"[5]
Ascension Day
Christi Himmelfahrt
Easter Sunday + 39 days
Whit Monday
Pfingstmontag
Easter Sunday + 50 days
Corpus Christi
Fronleichnam
Easter Sunday + 60 days
only in municipalities with predominantly Catholic population
Harvest Festival
Erntedanktag
1st Sunday after Michaelistag (29 September)
Reformation Day
Reformationstag
31 October
only in municipalities with predominantly Protestant population
Memorial Day for the martyrs of the (nazi) movement
Gedenktag für die Gefallenen der Bewegung
9 November
since 1939
Day of Repentance and Prayer
Buß- und Bettag
Wednesday before 23 November
Christmas Eve
Weihnachtsabend
24 December
Christmas Day
1. Weihnachtsfeiertag
25 December
St Stephen's Day / Boxing Day
2. Weihnachtsfeiertag
26 December
^ abBytwerk, Randall L. (1979). "Rhetorical aspects of Nazi holidays". The Journal of Popular Culture. 13 (2): 239–247. doi:10.1111/j.0022-3840.1979.1302_239.x.
^Snyder, Louis L. (1998). Encyclopedia of the Third Reich. Robert Hale.
^Paldiel, Mordecai (2000). Saving the Jews: Amazing Stories of Men and Women who Defied the "Final Solution". Schreiber.
^Kershaw, Ian. The "Hitler Myth": Image and Reality in the Third Reich Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1987. pp.57-59, 64, 72, 79, 141, 151, 159, 197-98, 213-14. ISBN 0-19-282234-9
^Gesetz über die Einführung eines Feiertags der nationalen Arbeit (10. April 1933), in: documentArchiv.de (Hrsg.)
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