November 9,1938 and the 10 had been known as "Kristallnacht" or the "Night  of Broken Glass", because of the attack on the Jews by the Germans. Kristallnacht is a German word that had two different parts: "Kristall" or "Crystal" referring to the look of broken glass and "Nacht" meaning night. In English translation it is "The Night of Broken Glass"
The cause of Kristallnacht is after Herschel Grynszpan,17, living in Paris with his uncle, shot and killed a German staff member, Ernst Vom Rath, a third secretary, in the German Embassy because of how poorly they had treated his family by making them move. So Hitler decided this to be a reason to blame the Jews and be rude to them to get them out of his country. Among the deportees to the Polish border was Zindel Grynszpan, Herschel's father, who was born in Poland and moved to Hannover where he started a small store in 1911.
It was on October 27 that the Grynszpan's were forced out of there home. His store and his possessions were ruined and they were forced to go to the Polish border. The killing of Ernst Vom Rath gave Joseph Gobbles, the chief of propaganda, an excuse to have something against Germans Jews. When Herschel herd how poorly his family was being treated he went to the German Embassy hoping to kill the German Ambassador but found out that the Ambassador wasn't in the Embassy so decided to kill the secretary Ernst. He was critically wounded and died the next day.
On November 9th synagogues were ravaged and then burned. The Jews were beaten, raped, arrested and murdered. Police just stood by as the synagogues were burnt and while Jews were being mistreated and only caring when the fire spread to non Jewish buildings. Mobs throughout Germany freely attacked the Jews in the streets, in there work and worship. At least 96 Jews were killed and hundreds more were injured. More than 1,00 were burned down and almost 7,500 Jewish businesses were destroyed, cemeteries and schools were vandalized and about 30,000 Jews were arrested and sent to concentration camps.

Men and women went in as gangs of youth's and smashed the plate glass windows. Inside the store counters and anything breakable or loose was thrown to the floor and smashed. Few police officers were visible. People with led pipes broke windows and threw things down to the crowd below. A mob smashed the best-known magic shop around. They used anything available to destroy things and they worked around the city seemingly according to plan. Hundreds of stores gaped open when workmen passed in the morning. 20 workers from the city market were helping themselves at a shoe store. When police arrived there were people sitting on the curb laughing and trying on pairs of shoes in search for a pair that fit.
Joseph Gobbles said "we shed not a single tear for them" " the synagogues stood in the way long enough." "we can use the space far more usefully than as Jewish fortresses." the sounds of breaking glass finally dies away at about midnight. signs appeared on many wrecked stores saying "this store has already been sold to Aryans".  Hitler began legal actions against the Jews. In 1933 he decided to have  a one day boycott against the Jewish shops. Jews soon weren't welcome in public schools and by 1936  Jews couldn't participate in elections and signs read "No Jews Allowed" on November 12 Herman Goering called a meeting to the top Nazi leadership to talk about the damages done during Kristallnacht. Present at the meeting were Goering, Gobbles, Reinhard Heydrich, Walter Funk and many more. They wanted to make the Jews responsible for Kristallnacht so that they would hopefully move from the German economy.
Goering said "If a Jews goods are thrown on the street or burned let the insurance companies pay for the damage!" we have not come to talk but to make decisions, I say that the agencies take all measures for the elimination of the Jews and give them to me!!!
The Following are laws that were passed:
  1. Jews were required to turn over all precious metals to the government.
  2. pensions for Jews dismissed from civil service jobs were reduced.
  3. Jewish-owned bonds, stocks, Jewelry and art works can be alienated only to the German state.
  4.  Jews were physically segregated within German towns
  5. A ban on the Jewish ownership of carrier pigeons.
  6. The suspension of Jewish drivers license.
  7.  The confiscation of Jewish-owned radios.
  8. A curfew to keep Jews off the streets between 9 p.m. and 5 a.m. in the summer and 8 p.m. and 6 a.m. in the  winter.
  9.  Laws protecting tenants were made non-applicable to Jewish tenants.
In July 1938 a law was passed that all Jews were to carry identification cards. Richard Wheilheimer and Marqulies both experienced Kristallnacht and here are there stories.

In Ludwigshafen, Germany, 65 years ago, Richard Wheilheimer looked down to a horrific scene taking place a few stories below. shop keepers were being dragged out of there homes in the night gowns, children beaten and store fronts smashed. It was almost his families turn as the mob forcibly opened the door and hauled away his father. 'It was like humanity gone berserk!" recalled Wheilheimer, Now 71 living in Port, Washington. "Afterwards my mother took me and my brother and we walked the streets not knowing what was going on." When they returned to out apartment after witnessing there own synagogue in flames, all of there furniture and dishes had been destroyed. thee clothes  were piled high in the middle of there floor and  and covered with ink and other liquids including molasses, the sent of which still haunt him. He also remembers the sound of broken glass and businesses being looted. An estimated 100 people were killed, hundreds of synagogues burned,7,500 businesses destroyed and 30,00 Jewish men arrested many of whom were sent to concentration camps. If it wasn't clear before that the final solution was coming this was really a clarification of what the plans were in terms of the Jews from the German economic life.
Marqulies was 11 at the time of Kristallnacht. "It brings back very powerful memories" Marqulies said. "It fueled the fate for us that our life for Jews was over." the clearest memories Marqulies retain from that day start from the morning when his mother showed up distraught at his school. His father had been deported two weeks earlier, to the camp Zbaszyn, and so his mother had made a plan to meet up in case of an emergency. While waiting for his sister at that designated place on Berlin, the entry way of a luggage store he saw the burning of Torah Scrolls in a public square and he started to cry. I kept asking my mom if  god had died, she said " What you see today you must never forget the rest of your life." I haven't, I cannot, I will not. Marqulies was the only one of his family to survive  the Holocaust among the millions who died were his mother Rosa; his father wolf and his 12-year old sister Thea. Wheilheimer lost  both of his parents, Max and Lilly.
The Nazi's were on charge for  five years and were working hard to get rid of all the Jews, So Kristallnacht was invented by the Jews in November 1938. this was another example of Nazi prevision.

 

 

Kylie Graves

7th Social Studies

Rossville Jr. High

Holocaust Project

2004

 

Bibliography