Nazi Terminology - E

E

• Eagle's Nest - see Kehlsteinhaus.
• Eher Verlag – the Nazi Party's official publishing house run by Max Amann.
• Ehrenarier - "honorary Aryan" - some people or peoples of non-Aryan ancestry were declared Honorary Aryans because of their service to the Third Reich. Hermann Göring stated, "I will decide who is Aryan".
• Ehrendolch – lit. "honor dagger", a presentation dagger awarded for individual recognition, especially by the SS.
• Ehrenkreuz der Deutschen Mutter--"Cross of Honor of the German Mother"—An award given to German mothers who presented four or more children to the Third Reich. Those who bore four to five children received the bronze Honor Cross, those who bore six to seven children received the silver Honor Cross, and those who bore at least eight children received the gold Honor Cross.
• Ehrenliste der Ermordeten der Bewegung – Nazi honor roll of those who fought and died for the party before it came to power in January 1933.
• Ehrenwaffe - Nazi honor weapon worn by NSDAP party leaders who qualified to carry them.
• Ein Volk, ein Reich, ein Führer – "One people, one nation, one leader"; one of the most-repeated slogans of the NSDAP
• Einsatzgruppen – "Special-operation units" that were death squads under the command of the RSHA and followed the Wehrmacht on the Eastern Front to engage in the systematic killing of mostly civilians, including: Jews, communists, intellectuals, and others.
• Einsatzstab Reichsleiter Rosenberg für die Besetzen Gebiete, "Reichsleiter Rosenberg Institute for the Occupied Territories" - principal authority for the looting of artwork and cultural treasures from occupied countries.
• Eiserne Kreuz, Iron Cross - Originally a Prussian royal military decoration for valor or combat leadership, revived by Hitler in 1939. There were three grades, the Iron Cross, Knight's Cross (Ritterkreuz) and Grand Cross (Grosskreuz); the basic grade was awarded in two degrees, 2nd and 1st Class. Holders of the 1914 Iron Cross were awarded a device (Spange) to be worn with the original decoration in lieu of a second medal.
• Endlösung – "final solution", short for "final solution to the question" (or "... problem"), a Nazi euphemism for what later became known as the Holocaust. Use of the phrase "final solution", even in non-Nazi contexts, e.g., "the final solution of a mathematics problem" is frowned upon in modern Germany. Note: It is important when reading books about the Third Reich that were published before 1978 to remember that the term "Holocaust", although it had been used before 1978 in some newspaper articles and by some Jewish and other intellectuals, did not become the general term used among the general population to refer to this genocide until after the appearance of the Holocaust TV miniseries in 1978. For example, William Shirer's 1961 book Rise and Fall of the Third Reich uses the term "the final solution" in quotes; the word "Holocaust" is not mentioned.
• Endlösung der Judenfrage – "final solution to the Jewish question"; see Endlösung, above.
• Endsieg – "final victory"; referring to the expected victory in World War II. Nazi leadership spoke of the "final victory" as late as March 1945.
• Entartete Kunst – degenerate art; term used as the title of an art show consisting of modern art and other "degenerate" art, which was contrasted with Nazi propagandistic Nazi art.
• Enterdungsaktion - ("Exhuming action"), also called the Sonderaktion 1005 ("special action 1005") or Aktion 1005 ("Action 1005"). See above Aktion 1005.
• Erbhöfe — hereditary; farms labelled as such were guaranteed to remain with the same family in perpetuity.
• Erbhofgesetz – the 1933 NSDAP hereditary farm law; it guaranteed family farm holdings of three hundred acres (1.2 km²) or less.
• Ermächtigungsgesetz – "Law to Relieve the Distress of the People and State"; Enabling Act of March 23, 1933, which had the effect of suspending the Weimar Constitution and granting Hitler dictatorial powers.
• Ersatz – a substitute product. Germany did not have an easy access to some strategic materials. German scientists had to research how to produce artificial rubber (Buna), and coffee made from roasted acorns, for example. Gasified coal was manufactured to create an artificial petroleum-like product to fuel vehicles. In a military context used to refer to replacement troops, e.g., Ersatzabteilung "replacement battalion."
• Erzeugungsschlacht - Battle for Production.