Kristallnacht is German for “The Night of Broken Glass”. That's it, one night. It only took one night to destroy nearly all of the Jewish synagogues in all of Austria and Germany.
In 1933, when Adolph Hitler decided that he would take over and be in charge of Germany, he declared that there would be a one-day boycott of anything Jewish, including schools, merchandise, stores, restaurants, etc. Then, in 1935, the Nuremberg laws were passed, and they said that Jews could not have the same rights as German citizens, and could no longer become citizens. One of the final things that started the riot, was that signs were put up, saying, “Jews not allowed” (They were taken down for the 1946 Olympics, which were located in Berlin, Germany).
Before the Holocaust, many Polish Jews lived in Germany. One night, without notice, they were taken and deported to Poland. This included over 1700 Jews. When they got to Poland, the Polish officials wouldn't let the Jews into Poland. The Nazis made the Jews march back and forth from Germany to Poland until the Polish let them in. Many people died during these marches.
A French Jew, Herschel Grynszpan, received a letter from his family saying how bad the deportations were. Grynszpan, who was very mad, appealed to the German ambassador in Paris, Ernst Vom Rath. Vom Rath listened to the appeal, but did absolutely nothing. It didn't look like he would do anything anytime soon, either.
On Monday, December 7, 1938, Grynszpan shot Vom Rath in the stomach. He fired three more shots, but each of them missed. Two days later, on December 9, Vom Rath died of an infection from the injury to his stomach.
As punishment for the death of Vom Rah, the Nazis went on a raid that led to death and destruction. In Germany, over 1570 synagogues were burned. 7000 Jewish shops and 29 department stores were destroyed. In Austria, 94 synagogues were also burned.
We aren't exactly sure how many people died on this night, but we think that it was around 90. Jews were beaten to death in front of their families and friends. A few non-Jews were also killed, because they were mistaken for Jews. In Austria, their neighbors and non-Jew friends forced Jews to clean the sidewalks with their tongues and rags.
Over 30,000 Jewish men were taken to Dachau, Buchenwald, and Sachsenhausen concentration camps. 2,000-2,500 were killed here because of Kristallnacht.
Kristallnacht started an outrage around the world. The U.S.A. recalled its German ambassador, and Pro-Nazi movements in the U.S. and Europe were stopped by their governments. The Jews were forced by the Nazis to pay 1,000,000,000 marks because of the death of Vom Rath, and even more for damage to the Synagogues. In a meeting held by Nazi officials, led by Hermann Goring, the Nazis decided what to do about the Jews. This meeting started the Holocaust.
In conclusion, on Kristallnacht, “The Night of Shattered Glass”, we see how much pain and suffering one group of people can give to another, all in one night, just because they're different.
