Destruction of the Dortmund synagogue during Kristallnacht (the “Night of Broken Glass”)
On this day in 1938, in an event that would foreshadow the Holocaust, German Nazis launch a campaign of terror against Jewish people and their homes and businesses in Germany and Austria.
The violence, which continued through November 10 and was later dubbed “Kristallnacht,” or “Night of Broken Glass,” after the countless smashed windows of Jewish-owned establishments, left approximately 100 Jews dead, 7,500 Jewish businesses damaged and hundreds of synagogues, homes, schools and graveyards vandalised.
An estimated 30,000 Jewish men were arrested, many of whom were then sent to concentration camps for several months; they were released when they promised to leave Germany. Kristallnacht represented a dramatic escalation of the campaign started by Adolf Hitler in 1933 when he became chancellor to purge Germany of its Jewish population.
The Nazis used the murder of a low-level German diplomat in Paris by a 17-year-old Polish Jew as an excuse to carry out the Kristallnacht attacks.
On November 7, 1938, Ernst vom Rath was shot outside the German embassy by Herschel Grynszpan, who wanted revenge for his parents’ sudden deportation from Germany to Poland, along with tens of thousands of other Polish Jews.
Following vom Rath’s death, Nazi propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels ordered German storm troopers to carry out violent riots disguised as “spontaneous demonstrations” against Jewish citizens.
Local police and fire departments were told not to interfere. In the face of all the devastation, some Jews, including entire families, committed suicide.
In the aftermath of Kristallnacht, the Nazis blamed the Jews and fined them 1 billion marks (or $400 million in 1938 dollars) for vom Rath’s death.
As repayment, the government seized Jewish property and kept insurance money owed to Jewish people.
In its quest to create a master Aryan race, the Nazi government enacted further discriminatory policies that essentially excluded Jews from all aspects of public life.
Over 100,000 Jews fled Germany for other countries after Kristallnacht. The international community was outraged by the violent events of November 9 and 10.
Some countries broke off diplomatic relations in protest, but the Nazis suffered no serious consequences, leading them to believe they could get away with the mass murder that was the Holocaust, in which an estimated 6 million European Jews died.
This Day In HistoryRelated articles
- Australian government compared to Nazis by Opposition frontbencher (craighill.net)
- From the archive: Kristallnacht (theguardian.com)
- 75 Years Later: How the World Shrugged Off Kristallnacht (spiegel.de)
- New book challenges official story as Germany marks 75th anniversary of Kristallnacht this weekend (rawstory.com)
- ‘Disgraceful’ Irish report on Kristallnacht goes on display in Germany (irishtimes.com)
- German spa withdraws ‘romantic Kristallnacht’ ad (timesofisrael.com)
- Kristallnacht anniversary still haunting for child refugee from Nazi mobs (oddonion.com)
- Kristallnacht anniversary still haunting for child refugee from Nazi mobs (theguardian.com)
- Historian questions Kristallnacht catalyst (thelocal.de)
- What’s in a name? The false narrative of Kristallnacht (jewishjournal.com)
- World Jewish Congress Leader: Kristallnacht Lives On in Modern Anti-Semitism (algemeiner.com)
Craig Hill Media and Consulting 
Something we should never forget and not repeat any shape or form … still try to forgive!
Posted by viveka | November 9, 2012, 00:40Anti-semitism in the rest of the world kept the outrage somewhat muted. The genocide might have been lessened if this were not so.
Posted by swabby429 | November 9, 2012, 01:07Reblogged this on Music TJ and commented:
I remember studying this in school a long time ago. “The price of liberty is eternal vigilance” These words still ring true today.
Posted by Music TJ | November 9, 2012, 05:17