History Of The Holocaust: Kristallnacht Or The Night Of Broken Glass

Kristallnacht, or the "Night of Broken Glass", is one of the most crucial events in German, Jewish, and World History. Before, the Jews were simply assaulted and verbally abused. However, on the night of November 9, 1938, an unplanned and extremely violent action against the Jews occurred. In two days, over 250 synagogues were burnt down while the fire department did nothing to stop it, over 7,000 Jewish businesses were trashed and looted, Jews were murdered, Jewish cemeteries, schools, hospitals, and homes were looted by SS while the police attempted to preserve them but failed. Before Kristallnacht, Jews ' lives were not threatened. Historically Jews were not welcome by many countries which

You have probably heard about a period of time, not so long ago, known as 'The Holocaust.' A holocaust, according to Webster's dictionary, is 'a complete destruction by fire' (Stadtler, 1). In Europe, during this period, there was a complete destruction by fire - of Jewish homes, Jewish businesses, Jewish neighborhoods, and Jewish people. This destruction was carried out under the direction of Adolf Hitler, during the years 1939-1945, but it actually began earlier, in 1933, when Hitler came to power in Germany.

The Jews were moved into the ghettos to be isolated from everyone else and be rounded up into an all Jewish group (Altman

30000 Jews were sent to concentration camps during Kristallnacht. The Nazi's came to power in 1932 as they were elected 608 seats in the German parliament. After this event, the Nazi's used fear and propaganda to slowly hypnotize and imbed their beliefs into the minds of every German citizen. However in November of 1938, the Nazi's showed everyone what they really believed in. during "the night of broken glass" or Kristallnacht. The Nazi's ransacked and destroyed many Jewish businesses while they also killed and captured many Jewish citizens . The purpose of Kristallnacht was to strike fear into Jewish communities, which in turn also sparked the beginning of the Nazi war machine that would sweep through Europe over the course of the upcoming years. To assess the significance of Kristallnacht I will look at the consequences, what caused it to happen.

Occurring in Germany and Austria on November 9, 1938, almost 200 synagogues were destroyed, over 8,000 Jewish shops were robbed, and many Jews were taken to concentration camps.

One of the most well known attacks on the Jews was known as Night of Broken Glass. On the November 9, 1938, violence against Jews broke out across Germany. The Germanys tried to make it appeared like the violence was an unplanned attack, set off by the assassination of a German official in Paris at the hands of a Jewish teenager. In two days, over 1,000 synagogues were burned, 7,000 Jewish businesses were trashed and looted, dozens of Jewish people were killed, and Jewish cemeteries, hospitals, schools, and homes were looted while police and fire brigades stood by. http://www.ushmm.org/outreach/kristall.htm

It wasn’t until two days later on November 9th, 1938, when Ernst vom Rath was pronounced dead as the news of his tragic death swept the country (Schwab 10). This assassination was used as propaganda in which the Nazi party blamed Jews in general, more specifically Herschel Grynszpan, for “lighting the fuse” for the horrendous attacks that took place during Kristallnacht (Fitzgerald 62). For years Jews living in the German State suffered under the rule of Adolf Hitler, but Kristallnacht was the first public act of violence carried out in a large scale in attempt to make Germany Judenfrei, or Jew free. (Fitzgerald 33). Kristallnacht translates to “night of the broken glass” in German, in reference to the six-million Reichsmark (equivalent to about 2.4 million dollars) worth of glass windows of Jewish businesses that were shattered during the pogrom; but the dignity and hope of Jews living in Germany had been shattered like glass long before

On November 9, 1938, Kristallnacht occurred, it was a horrific day for European Jews. Kristallnacht means “The Night of Broken Glass.¨ On that night Jewish people got beaten and killed, their homes got broken into, and Jewish women and children got brutalized. Synagogues got burnt down and Jewish stores were destroyed.

On November 10, 1938 at 1:02 A.M. is when the Nazi’s chargered (Heydrich, 35). This night is called the Kristallnacht or the broken glass. “... business and apartments belonging to the Jews may be destroyed but not looted,” (Heydrich, 35). All Nazi officers burned down all the of the Jews businesses, homes, and their synagogues. Kristallnacht affected many Jewish lives from some aspects of their family, finance, and religion.

One of the most significant events that took place during the Holocaust was Kristallnacht; known as The Night of the Broken Glass for the shattered pieces of glass that littered the streets. On the night of November 9th, 1938, Nazi troops were ordered to disguise as ordinary civilians in order to give the impression that the perpetrators were angry members of the public. They outflanked Jewish neighborhoods, destroying homes, synagogues, shops, and businesses, encouraging ordinary Germans to participate in the breaking of glass by throwing Jewish possessions out of windows into streets. Many historians believe that night triggered the introduction of the Holocaust, as 91 Jews were killed in the attack and 30,000 arrested and incarcerated

January 30, 1933 to May 8, 1945. Hitler became Germany’s chancellor when it first started and

The Holocaust. The Holocaust was the mass killing of Jews in Germany. It was a time of depression and a time of mourning. (“The Holocaust”). It was the start of a new beginning in Germany and it was clear that Germany didn’t want anything to do with them (“The Night of Broken Glass”).

The war has begun. Germany’s Nazi army is attacking other countries, and the Jews are in danger. In German-occupied Poland, Jews are being captured by the Nazis and are sent to work/concentration camps, only to be trapped there until either they die or when the war ends. Jews were forced to work in these camps, tormented and punished severely.

Kristallnacht happened on the evening and early morning of November ninth and tenth of 1938. It is also known as the “Night of Broken Glass”. The name Kristallnacht comes from the sight of glass on the streets from the windows of synagogues, Jewish-owned businesses and homes being broken. This is because of the anti Jewish pogroms. Pogrom is a Russian word meaning to wreak havoc or to demolish violently. German officials said that Kristallnacht was a spontaneous outburst of violence in regard to the assassination of Ernst von Rath. Two days before Kristallnacht occurred, a 17 year old Polish Jew named Herschel Grynszpan shot Ernst vom Rath.

Kristallnacht was a night of destruction and terror for all German Jews. The Night of Broken Glass got its name from the shattering of windows of Jewish businesses by the instructions of Heydrich. Many aspects of Jewish lives were tested on Kristallnacht.