Night of Broken Glass

[Devil Doc]

Today is the anniversary of Kristallnacht, the night in 1938 when Hitler ordered a series of supposedly spontaneous attacks on Jewish homes, businesses, and synagogues. The idea was to make the attacks look random, and then accuse the Jews of inciting the violence. In all, more than 1,000 synagogues were burned or destroyed. Rioters looted about 7,500 Jewish businesses and vandalized Jewish hospitals, homes, schools, and cemeteries. The event was used to justify barring Jews from schools and most public places, and forcing them to adhere to new curfews. In the days following, thousands of Jews were sent to concentration camps. The event was called Kristallnacht, which means, "Night of Broken Glass." It's generally considered the official beginning of the Holocaust. Before that night, the Nazis had killed people secretly and individually. After Kristallnacht, the Nazis felt free to persecute the Jews openly, because they knew no one would stop them.

Doc.

 

[lurch]

Thanks for today's history lesson Doc....as always you've opened our eyes to events other than those so close to home. Thanks again

 

[sonuvabum]

Actually went to Wiki to read a little more about this.

Thanks Doc!!

 

[Infinity]

Unfugginbelievable that this actually happened, that the world stood by watching it happen.

The irony is that many of these Jews were kids when they and their parents fled Russia from the persecuting Tzar's. Some of them went to Germany, some went to the US (the lucky one's). My mother was born in Montreal 1914, my father in Palestine 1912, both their families ended up in Africa.

Brian

 

[hudsonvalley]

Hmmm, and me going out in Heidelburg tonight. Wonder if it will flavor the evening? Not that I would know. Germans don't seem to get out of their skin much even to say hello.

 

[Rebel Herfer]

Thanks Doc. I recently found a 1940 edition of Mein Kampf, Complete & Unabridged, fully annotated, which I've been reading little by little. It just amazes me that this book was available and yet the world ignored it and that it took until 1940 for the complete version to make it to the English speaking world as this edition was the first to do so. I had read the general version in High School & studied WW II and the surrounding events since, but this edition is mind blowing because the comments and refutations throughout the book were made by contemporaries, not some historian with 20/20 hindsight. The other eye opening fact is how rambling the original was. Reading this sure makes me wonder how some in our government want to roll over for the current crop of Hitlers. (Just an obsevation not an insightment / invitation to debate).

 

[JoeyBear]

Thanks, Doc, for the info. I'm going to use this info for my afternoon History B classes. I've got to find more info so I can assign them readings, class discussions, and webquests about the beginnings of WWII so this will be great to help give me a start.

 

[MadAl]

My mom and her family lived through this. She came to this country in 1939.

 

[Krautle87]

Unfortunately, there is the serious threat of another holocaust within the next couple years, and today's fascists are shouting their hate from the rooftops (and the minarets), more loudly and clearly than Hitler's thugs ever did.

 

[Niko]

Very sad stuff.

 

[Boomer52]

And once again the vast majority remains silent and turns a blind eye. Will we never learn from history?

 

[preembargo]

Ironically (or maybe poetically) today is also the anniversary of the day the wall came down.

 

[hudsonvalley]

Well, tonight I ate a traditional German dinner in Heidelberg. You can still feel, I think, the shadow of that whole thing in the subconscious of the culture here. The stiffness, the reserve is palpable. But later I went out salsa dancing in Club Havana here. That's right salsa dancing. And I danced these liquid dances with GERMAN women, one expertly so. Others needed time to loosen up a little. So glad to be of service.


There is hope for mankind.