Gun Control in the Third Reich by Stephen Halbrook

This is a study of how the Nazi regime disarmed the Jewish community in Germany during the 1930's. The Jewish people were targeted as enemies of the state and therefore posed as a threat to Hitler's power.

The book discusses the gun laws that were in place during the Wiemar Republic including lists from registries.  There were not really any obstacles in acquiring guns and other weapons as long as there were sufficient reasons for owning a weapon.  For example, a store owner who experienced robberies and break-ins could relatively easily gain access to a gun.  As long as one registered the gun with the local police department a citizen could own a gun. If one was member of a hunting club, one could retain a hunting rifle etc.

Germany had sporting hunting clubs that were registered; there were people who retained their service rifles and revolvers from their WWI military service.  Many reasons could be conjured up to own a gun in Germany.

With the fall of Wiemar, however, and the rise of the National Socialists (Nazis) the fate of gun ownership changed radically. Under Nazi leadership, there were certain people and peoples that became targeted for gun confiscation.  Hitler's political enemies in addition to the Jewish people became the object of search and seizures.  Before Hitler attacked and eliminated his political enemies during the "Night of Long Knives" his Gestapo was already confiscating weapons.  Such confiscation made retaliation and self defense much more difficult.

The book highlights eye witness accounts and diaries that recount the personal searches and harsh treatment.  Many were cast into Concentration camps as punishment in the 1930s (the final solution was not in place yet)  Starvation was not an uncommon death to those committed to the camps waiting out their sentence.

The book argues that had Germany not had gun and weapon registries then confiscation would have been much more difficult and such difficulty might have changed the outcome of the extent of armed resistance against the Reich.  By the time of the final solution against the Jewish people was put in place, the Jews of Germany were basically stripped of there legal gun ownership and thus were at a disadvantage to properly defend themselves and possibly fight back.

There is an obvious argument that this book puts forth forcefully: the only true purpose of registering a gun or weapon is so that the authorities or government can ultimately take them away. The Jewish people of Germany were not threats and were law abiding citizens.  There was no good reason to confiscate their guns.  Taking away their guns was part of a grand conspiracy to destroy them.  In a country that has a constitutional amendment to "bear arms", this book contributes to the contemporary conversation about unimpaired free gun ownership.