Kristallnacht - Social Studies

 Kristallnact - 'The Night Of Broken Glass'

On November 9th, 1938, a wave of anti-Jewish violence and demonstrations took place

throughout parts of Germany and Austria. The assassinations of Ernest vom Rath, the third secretart of the German embassy, by 17-year old Jewsh refugee Herschel Grynszpan gave Hitler and his Nazi party enough amnunition to launch their full-scale annihilation of the Jewish population, starting with a single night of destruction known as Kristallnacht, or 'Night of Broken Glass'. This might was an integral step in fulfilling Hitler's Final Solution of the Jewish Question, by first destroying over 1000 synagogues, 7000 Jewish businesses, and deporting over 30,000 Jewish men to concentraion camps.

Significance of Kristallnacht

Kristallnacht highlights the overall intent and coordination behind the Holocast conducted by Hitler and the Nazi Party. The manipulation of events surrounding this night, as well as the organisation of violence and destruction communicates the dangers of a totalitarian regime and the true inflence that Hitler held over the German people. This coordination was a key factor leading up to the mass killing of Jews now considered a genocide, however it is only in retrospect that we can understand this.