Kristallnacht
By Grayson McGovern
What is Kristallnacht?
On November 9, 1938, citizens of Germany and Austria burned down almost 200 Jewish synagogues, destroyed over 8,000 Jewish shops, and around 30,000 Jews were moved to concentration camps. This night is often referred to as "The Night of Broken Glass" because of all the glass that remained in the streets after the night was over.
How does Kristallnacht relate to the Holocaust?
What happened this night shows just how much everyone hated the Jews. This whole attack was planned and carried out but the Nazi army, but they tried to pretend the citizens of Germany and Austria had planned it.
Facts about Kristallnacht
- It was designed to make the Jews want to leave Germany and Austria.
- The Nazi government's army, Sturmabteilung, was given permission to destroy anything owned by Jews.
- Firefighters watched as everything happened, they only stopped fires so that it would not spread to non-Jewish homes.
- Some people hid their Jewish neighbors in their own homes to protect them.
- More than 100 Jews were killed.
- News spread about the pogrom all over the world, but no one did anything to try and help the Jewish people living in Germany and Austria.
- Mobs would roam the streets shouting, "Beat the Jews to death."
- Police supplied lists of names and addresses belonging to Jewish people.
- Until Kristallnacht, people weren't sent to concentration camps simply because they were Jews.
- In all, as many as 2,500 Jews, of all age and gender, died as a result of Kristallnacht. Most of these deaths were in concentration camps.
- Only a small amount of Germans actually participated in Kristallnacht, most were afraid toget involved.
- All of the other countries that hears about what happened were outraged, but still did nothing.
- A few days later, the Jews were banned from going to any type of performance, and the children were banned from going to German schools.
- President Franklin D. Roosevelt was the first and only world leader to speak out against the Nazis.
- Trials in 1945 were when the planning of Kristallnacht became evident.