aryanization
|ar-yan-i-za-tion|
🇺🇸
/ˌɛəriənaɪˈzeɪʃən/
🇬🇧
/ˌeəriənaɪˈzeɪʃ(ə)n/
forced transfer to 'Aryans'
Etymology
'aryanization' originates in English as a compound of 'Aryan' (the racial term ultimately from Sanskrit 'ārya' via German and 19th-century racial theories) and the suffix '-ization' (from Greek '-izein' via Latin/French, meaning 'to make or cause to be').
'aryanization' changed from the German noun 'Arisierung' (used in Nazi Germany to describe the transfer of Jewish property) and was adopted into English usage as 'aryanization' to describe the same policy and phenomenon.
Initially, formations with 'Aryan-' could mean 'relating to Aryans' or 'made Aryan'; over time, especially after the 1930s, 'aryanization' came to specifically denote the systematic expropriation and transfer of Jewish-owned economic assets under racial policy.
Meanings by Part of Speech
Noun 1
the policy or process (especially under Nazi Germany) of transferring Jewish-owned businesses, property, or economic assets to so-called 'Aryan' ownership, often by expropriation, forced sale, legal discrimination, or administrative pressure.
The aryanization of Jewish businesses in occupied Europe led to widespread dispossession and the enrichment of non-Jewish owners.
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Noun 2
more generally, the act or process of making something conform to an 'Aryan' ideal or character (used in historical or critical discussions of racial policies).
Scholars describe 'aryanization' as not only economic expropriation but also a cultural and administrative remaking of society.
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Last updated: 2025/10/13 15:12