Created by Jacqueline Bouley Period 5

Where Did This Take Place?

Events Leading Up to the Attacks  When Hitler rose to power in Germany his goal was to eliminate all of the Jews throughout the world, blaming them for all of the problems occuring throughout Germany and other countries.  In the begininning of 1938, many laws were passed that economically and occupationally restricted Jews. Jews were forced to carry ID cards and many were arrested and brought across the Polish border.  One deportee was Zindel Grynszpan, who had a 17 year old son named Herschel. When Herschel found out his family was deported from their home he went to the German Embassy in Paris, with intent to assasinate the German Ambassador to France. Instead he assasinated the Third Secretary Ernst Von Rath.  When Hitler and his offocials heard of this news, they believed that they had enough reason to launch a massive attack against German Jews. This is when the Night of Broken Glass (Kristallnacht) took place.

The Night of November 9 th  On the night of November 9 th, the sounds of shattering and breaking glass awoke thousands of Jews from their sleep throughout Germany. Fires were also set throughout many cities, destroying Jewish synagogues and prayer institutions.  By the end of the attack, Nazi troopers had destroyed 7000 Jewish businesses and 900 Jewish synagogues. Up to Jewish men were captured and sent to concentration camps.  Much of the violence occurred throughout areas of Berlin and Vienna, since these areas were home to the largest Jewish communities of the German Reich.  Even more so, a total of 91 Jews were also killed during these acts.  The Night of Broken Glass marked the first instance in which Jews were taken from their homes and sent to labor camps.

Aftermath of Kristallnacht  After the events of Kristallnacht, German leaders announced the introduction of the extermination of all Jews from the sphere of German economics.  German governement announced that Jews were to blame for what happened during the Night of Broken Glass. A fine of 400 million US dollars was placed upon the German Jewish communities for all the damage that the Nazis caused during the attacks.  The German Reich took away all insurance payouts from Jews whose businesses or homes got destroyed. Therefore, Jews themselves were responsbile for making up all of the damage that was caused.  Continuing for weeks after the events, the German government continued to impose more laws against Jews that limited both their freedom and their ownership of property.

Aftermath of Kristallnacht continued  An Aryanization policy was enforced by Germans towards the Jews, meaning that Jewish owned and operated enterprises and properties were handed over to Aryan ownership.  Jews were also banned from public employment as well as practicing many other professions both privately and publicly.  Jewish children were expelled from German schools and German Jews were not allowed to own a car or hold a license.  German Jews were also banned from going to German theaters, cinemas, concert halls and were restricted from German public transportation.  After the Night of Broken Glass, more radical approaches towards Germans throughout Europe were beginning to take place and allowed for Nazis to take more extreme and anti-Semitic action towards them.

This image depicts the aftermath of the Kristallnacht attacks; shows a broken shop window that is completely destroyed. Many Jewish businesses throughout Germany were devastated as such.

This image depicts a burning synagogue in Germany; hundreds of them were burned to the ground and destroyed during the attacks.

Survivor Testimony  Susan Warsinger was one of the survivors of the incidents surrounding the Night of Broken Glass.  She recalls being very excited about their mother’s birthday coming up and remembers going to sleep at about 11 pm on November 9 th. Suddenly, bricks and rocks were thrown through her windows and her younger brother had discovered that their neighbors had been doing so, with the police standing around not doing anything to help.  Townspeople had stormed through her apartment and hallway in search of the rabbi who lived on the second floor. The rabbi was hiding up above from the people so that he wouldn’t get attacked.  Two SS officers had located the rabbi and grabbed him from where he was hiding, as he was sent to jail. Susan also recalls how her father was sent to jail as well but released the night after.  Her apartment was slightly ransacked but the rabbi’s next door was completely demolished and all of his books were burned.  After the Night of Broken Glass everyone wanted to get out of Germany but it was very difficult and moving to another country unnoticed was not an option.

Web Credits  Kristallnacht: A Nationwide Pogrom Kristallnacht: A Nationwide Pogrom  People and Events: Kristallnacht People and Events: Kristallnacht  Survivors Remember Kristallnacht Survivors Remember Kristallnacht  Night of Broken Glass History and Overview Night of Broken Glass History and Overview  Kristallnact Kristallnact  Map of Kristallnacht Map of Kristallnacht