Editing Judenrat (section)

==Nazi considerations of Jewish legal status==
The structure and missions of the ''Judenräte'' under the Nazi regime varied widely, often depending upon whether meant for [[Ghettos in Nazi-occupied Europe|a single ghetto]], a city or a whole region. Jurisdiction over a whole country, as in [[Nazi Germany]], was maintained by ''[[Reichsvereinigung der Juden in Deutschland]]'' (Reich's Association of the Jews in Germany) established on 4 July 1939.<ref>{{cite journal |url=http://www1.yadvashem.org/odot_pdf/Microsoft%20Word%20-%204679.pdf |title=Yad Vashem Archives |author=Josef Israel Loewenherz |date=1 June 1942 |journal=Head of the Jewish Community in Vienna Informs About the Intended Evacuation of Jews to Theresienstadt Concentration Camp |publisher=Yad Vashem, The Holocaust Martyrs' and Heroes' Remembrance Authority |access-date=1 April 2015 |archive-date=18 July 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130718195916/http://www.yadvashem.org/odot_pdf/Microsoft%20Word%20-%204679.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>

In the beginning of April 1933, shortly after the National Socialist government took power, a report by a German governmental commission on fighting the Jews was presented. This report recommended the creation of a recognized 'Association of Jews in Germany' (''Verband der Juden in Deutschland''), to which all Jews in Germany would be forced to associate.  Appointed by the [[Chancellor of Germany#Chancellor of the Third Reich (1933–1945)|Reichskanzler]], a German People's Ward was then to assume responsibility of this group.  As the leading Jewish organization, it was envisioned that this association would have a 25-member council called the ''Judenrat''. However, the report was not officially acted upon.<ref name=Michman2003>{{cite book | last=Michman | first=Dan |chapter=Jewish 'Headships' under Nazi Rule: The Evolution and Implementation of an Administrative Concept | title=Holocaust historiography: a Jewish perspective: conceptualizations, terminology, approaches, and fundamental issues |url=https://archive.org/details/holocausthistori0000mikh/mode/2up |url-access=registration | publisher=Vallentine Mitchell | publication-place=London; Portland, OR | year=2003 | isbn=0-85303-436-2 | pages=159–175}}</ref>

The Israeli historian [[Dan Michman]] found it likely that the commission, which considered the legal status and interactions of Jews and non-Jews before their [[Jewish emancipation|emancipation]], reached back to the Medieval Era for the term ''Judenräte''. This illuminates the apparent intent to make the Jewish emancipation and assimilation invalid, and so return Jews to the status they held during the Medieval Era.<ref name=Michman2003/>