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Kristallnacht Facts

Kristallnacht Facts
Kristallnacht is literally translated to 'Night of Crystal' and refers to the 'Night of Broken Glass'. The Night of Broken Glass was a wave of violent anti-Jewish attack that resulted in shattered glass from Jewish-owned homes, synagogues, and businesses lining the streets of Germany. The pogroms (events that violently demolish and wreak havoc upon) took place on November 9th and 10th, 1938, instigated by the Nazi Party, Hitler Youth, and SA. The German officials blamed Kristallnacht on public sentiment to the assassination of a German embassy official, when it was in fact an attempt to launch anti-Semitic pogroms. Joseph Goebbel, propaganda minister insisted that Hitler not be implicated but instead the 'demonstrations' should look spontaneous.
Interesting Kristallnacht Facts:
During the Night of Broken Glass, 267 synagogues were destroyed in Austria, Germany, and Sudetenland.
While the synagogues burned, fireman were told only to try to put out the fires if nearby buildings were threatened by the flames.
Two of the largest Jewish communities were in Berlin and Vienna. These communities suffered attacks by SA mobs, and at least 91 Jews were murdered.
During the Night of Broken Glass, at least 30,000 Jewish males were arrested. They were either sent to local prisons or to concentration camps such as Dachau, Buchenwald, and Sachsenhausen.
Jewish homes, schools, and other buildings were completely destroyed during the Night of Broken Glass. It wasn't just glass that was broken. Most of the buildings were completely torched.
Prior to the Night of Broken Glass, most of the German and Nazi harassment of the Jewish people had been non-violent.
On the Night of Broken Glass, although violence was not publicly suggested, many Jewish people were murdered or assaulted. Suicide rates among Jews rose after the incident.
The Night of Broken Glass was the first time the Nazis had launched an attack on the Jewish community on such a large scale, imprisoning based on their ethnicity.
Hundreds of the Jewish men who were imprisoned in the concentration camps died as a result.
Those not killed in the concentration camps were released over the next several months with the condition that they begin to emigrate from Germany.
German leaders criticized the Night of broken Glass because of the financial impact it would have to cover the cost of damages.
German leaders began to use the Night of Broken Glass as a way to introduce rules and measures that would remove Jewish influence from German economics.
Following the Night of Broken Glass, the German government began to implement laws that would further remove Jews from consideration in society. These new laws were meant to deprive them of their property and of their livelihoods.
The new laws that came into place following the Night of broken Glass pushed for Aryanization, transferring Jewish property to Germans for only a fraction of their value and worth.
The Nazi regime took the passive response by German citizens after the Night of Broken Glass to symbolize that they were in agreement of the new laws and would welcome more radicalization.


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