Kristallnacht
1. What is Kristallnacht?
Kristallnacht -- literally, "Night of Crystal," is often referred to as the "Night of
Broken Glass." The name refers to the wave of violent anti-Jewish pogroms which
took place on November 9 and 10, 1938, throughout Germany, annexed Austria,
and in areas of the Sudetenland in Czechoslovakia recently occupied by German
troops.
Source: http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10005201
What happened on Kristallnacht ?
The rioters destroyed 267 synagogues (Jewish places of worship)
throughout Germany, Austria, and the Sudetenland. Many synagogues
burned throughout the night, in full view of the public and of local
firefighters, who had received orders to intervene only to prevent flames
from spreading to nearby buildings. SA and Hitler Youth members across
the country shattered the shop windows of an estimated 7,500 Jewishowned commercial establishments, and looted their wares. Jewish
cemeteries became a particular object of desecration (treated in a way that
was disrespectful) in many regions.
Remains of Fasanenstrasse Synagogue After Kristallnacht
Source:
http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://image.aish.com/holocaust/he05n11c_500x342.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.aish.com/ho/o/
48956531.html&usg=__pGK_HsuIvFdJ-
Synagogues occupy a central place in Jewish religious and communal life. To the Nazis,
however, they served as a powerful physical reminder
of the Jewish presence in Germany. In the months
before Kristallnacht, synagogues in Munich,
Nuremberg, Dortmund, and Kaiserslautern were
demolished (torn down) on the orders of local Nazi
party officials; in other German towns, anti-Jewish
vandalism (destroying property) was common.
On the night of November 9, the violence became
nationwide. That day, German propaganda minister
Joseph Goebbels announced to Nazi officials
attending an anniversary celebration of Hitler's
abortive uprising in 1923 that vom Rath had died and
sporadic pogroms had broken out in a number of
cities. Local SA, SS, and party leaders then received
orders to attack the Jewish communities and carry out
arrests.
Synagogues were frequently the first targets of these bands. After seizing the archives
and valuables, they destroyed the interiors and desecrated religious objects. Wherever
possible, the Nazi assailants tried to set the buildings ablaze, while firemen protected
nearby "Aryan" (non-Jewish Germans) property.
When the violence ended on the night of November 10, rioters had burned or destroyed
267 synagogues. German city officials, anxious to remove traces of these buildings,
often ordered their immediate demolition and forced the Jewish community to pay for the
costs.
The burning of the synagogue in Ober Ramstadt during Kristallnacht. The local firedepartment prevented the fire from spreading to a nearby home, but made no attempt to
intervene in the synagogue fire. Trudy Isenberg Collection, USHMM Archives
Source: http://www.ushmm.org/museum/exhibit/online/kristallnacht/frame.htm
Cities Where Synagogues Were Destroyed
Source:
http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://fcit.usf.edu/holocaust/timeline/kmap.gif&imgrefurl=http://fcit.usf.edu/holocaust/timeline/KMa
p.htm&h=366&w=400&sz=19&tbnid=VxN2BOkomGpRVM:&tbnh=113&tbnw=124&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dkristallnacht%2Bmap%26tbm%3Disch
%26tbo%3Du&zoom=1&q=kristallnacht+map&hl=en&usg=__68suO8GHtWlarPzSG0g34m9AIg=&sa=X&ei=rok9T83ZCIXo2QWVmvCaCA&ved=0CBsQ9QEwAw
Click on these links, then click the first photo to start the slide show :
http://www1.yadvashem.org/yv/en/exhibitions/kristallnacht/baden.asp
http://www1.yadvashem.org/yv/en/exhibitions/kristallnacht/photos.asp