Kristallnacht was a crucial turning point in the history of German Jews. Known also as the Night of Broken Glass, it took place all over Germany and Austria on 9-10 November, 1938. The event was arranged by the Nazi party and their plan was carried out by SS men and Stormtroopers. During Kristallnacht, Jewish properties, businesses and synagogues were completely destroyed. Windows were smashed. Buildings were burnt. Jewish people were beaten and murdered. Although Kristallnacht was hastily organised, there were many background causes that fuelled its occurrence: anti-Semitism, laws against Jews, propaganda and the actions of Herschel Grynszpan. As expected, there were also many consequences of this event, including the damage to the livelihood …show more content…
Anti-Semitism is any form of prejudice against Jews and it was a key concept of Nazism. Hitler’s powerful sense of anti-Semitism greatly fuelled the occurrence of Kristallnacht. Hitler strongly believed in preserving the racial purity of Germany and insisted that the Aryan race, otherwise known as the “master race”, was superior to others. He viewed Jews as a threat to the German master race. Furthermore, he claimed that they were the reason why Germany lost WW1 and that they were associated with communism, prostitution and crime. In his book, Mein Kampf, Hitler described Jews as “parasites”, “liars” and the “mortal enemy” of the Aryan race. They were the “misfortune” of Germany, and therefore had to be exterminated. As displayed by his beliefs, the Jews were considered a very dangerous minority and thus were the targets of brutality and aggression. Due to Hitler’s great influence over the citizens of Germany, attacks towards Jews were permitted and encouraged. Without anti-Semitism, the violence towards Jews, as apparent on the night of Kristallnacht, would not have taken …show more content…
The laws took away the rights of Jews and targeted their social and economic positions. The Law of the Restoration of Civil Service, for example, was passed in 1933 and prompted all Jews, who were working in the civil service at that time, to lose their jobs. Laws passed in September and October 1933 also prevented Jews from working in government jobs or as journalists. Not only were Jews stripped of their jobs, but young children were also stripped of their educational opportunities, as the Law Against the Overcrowding of German Schools meant that only a small amount of Jewish children could attend public schools. In 1935, the Nuremberg Laws stated that Germans of Jewish blood were not considered citizens of Germany anymore and thus, had no citizen rights. Jews were also not allowed to get married or sexually involved with “pure” Germans. Although these laws made many circumstances illegal for Jews, they seemingly made anti-Semitism legal. They served to segregate Jews from the rest of Germany both socially and economically, making them vulnerable to violent attacks like Kristallnacht. As Jewish people’s citizenship and human rights had been taken away, Germans who were involved in Kristallnacht could be reassured in the fact that they would not receive any backlash or
Anti-Semitism, hatred or prejudice of Jews, has tormented the world for a long time, particularly during the Holocaust. The Holocaust was a critical disaster that happened in the early 1940s and will forever be remembered. Also known as the genocide of approximately six million European Jews during World War II, an assassination by the German Nazis lead by Adolf Hitler.
Kristallnacht was a savage night where hundreds where murdered. In addition, Kristallnacht means the night of broken glass in German, and The Night of Broken Glass occurred on the night of November 9th until November 10th. Kristallnacht took place in small parts of Austria, Sudentland, and all over Germany in addition discrimination of the Jews had dated all the way back to 1935 by Germans. Two years before Kristallnacht, Jews were treated unfairly and ignored by the society, furthermore Germans did not allow Jews attend public parks and in 1936, Jews were banned to come see the Olympic Games which were held in Germany at the time. Kristallnacht got its nickname The Night of Broken Glass due to the fact that during November 9th and 10th rioters and police, violent and extreme, sh...
Before the nineteenth century anti-Semitism was largely religious, based on the belief that the Jews were responsible for Jesus’ crucifixion. It was expressed later in the Middle Ages by persecutions and expulsions, economic restrictions and personal restrictions. After Jewish emancipation during the enlightenment, or later, religious anti-Semitism was slowly replaced in the nineteenth century by racial prejudice, stemming from the idea of Jews as a distinct race. In Germany theories of Aryan racial superiority and charges of Jewish domination in the economy and politics in addition with other anti-Jewish propaganda led to the rise of anti-Semitism. This growth in anti-Semitic belief led to Adolf Hitler’s rise to power and eventual extermination of nearly six million Jews in the holocaust of World War II.
Prior to Kristallnacht, the Nazi policies had been primarily nonviolent. However, after Kristallnacht, conditions for German Jews grew increasingly worse. Kristallnacht marked a turning point toward more violent and repressive treatment of Jews by the Nazis. By the end of 1938, Jews were prohibited from schools and most public places in Germany with conditions continuing
Germany’s dictator at the time, Adolf Hitler, thought that the Jews were the cause of the defeat of Germany in 1918 (“Mass Hysteria Holocaust”). Hitler was able to convince a large amount of people that all of the Jews needed to be oppressed and killed by anyone who knew of them (“Mass Hysteria Holocaust”). He believed that the only worthy humans were those with blue eyes and blonde hair, eliminating most Jews (“The Voices of Victims”). Nazis began to collect many Jewish people in concentration camps, killing them off as if they were cattle (“Mass Hysteria
The Nazi Party, controlled by Adolf Hitler, ruled Germany from 1933 to 1945. In 1933, Hitler became the Chancellor of Germany and the Nazi government began to take over. Hitler became a very influential speaker and attracted new members to his party by blaming Jews for Germany’s problems and developed a concept of a “master race.” The Nazis believed that Germans were “racially superior” and that the Jewish people were a threat to the German racial community and also targeted other groups because of their “perceived racial inferiority” such as Gypsies, disabled persons, Polish people and Russians as well as many others. In 1938, Jewish people were banned from public places in Germany and many were sent to concentration camps where they were either murdered or forced to work.
As Hitler was rising in power, his plan all along was to “make Germany better,” as he thought he was doing. In his eyes, making Germany better was everyone being equal. He wasn’t going to hesitate to take the first chance he could to jump on the Jews. He would act on any little reason he could. A German official was assassinated in Paris and Germans were angry because it was in the hands of a Jewish teenager. It gave the Germans a chance to attack at the Jews (United States Holocaust Memorial Museum). There were a lot of unnecessary laws passed that were meant to take away the Jewish peoples happiness. For example, they had a curfew of 9:00 pm and 5:00 am in the summer, and 8:00 pm and 6:00 am in the winter. Kristallnacht, or otherwise named, The Night of the Broken, was like a turning point for the Jewish people that started off the Holocaust (American-Israeli Cooperative Enterprise). Hitler made a lot of laws like the one stated above and continued to do so to try and get a reaction out of them.
Hitler realizes he must eliminate the Jews because they control the press, and the only way that the Nazis can gain support is through the press. Hitler then goes into detail about how great the Aryan nation is and how belittled the Jews are. Hitler writes about the Jews, “The Jew remains united only if forced by a common danger or is attracted by a common booty…If the Jews were alone in this world, they would suffocate as much in dirt and filth, as they would carry on a detestable struggle to chat and to ruin each other…” (Mein Kampf, Page 416.) From this passage Hitler truly believes that the Jews have no place on this earth and that they serve no purpose in helping humankind advance. Through his writings in Mein Kampf Hitler was able to create a following that believed
Have you ever wondered what was the real cause of the Holocaust or how was the Holocaust brought about? Well have you ever heard about the “Night of the Broken Glass” or what is called the “Kristallnacht”? The Holocaust started with the laws leading up to the Night of the Broken Glass; the lack of German reaction or outrage and the lack of response from the world to these efforts to discriminate and persecute the Jews allowed the Nazis to eventually proceed to the final solution.
On April 1, 1933, the Nazis started their first action against the Jews by announcing a boycott of all Jewish- run businesses. About five months later, the Nuremberg Laws were issued on September 15, 1935. These excluded Jews from public life and also took away their citizenship as well. On November 9-10, 1938; burning of synagogues and destroying of Jewish business took place. Jews were physically attacked and about 30,000 Jews were arrested and sent to concentration camps. This night was also known as “Kristallnacht” or “Night of Broken Glass”. Also on November 9th Hershel Grynszpan, a 17 year old Jewish boy, shot Ernest vom Rath because he was departed from his family. Rath was the third secretary in the Ger...
Many people before the Holocaust, and before Hitler, still hated the Jews. But Hitler made it his goal to kill this imperfect race.“Born in Austria,Hitler served in the German army during World War One.”( The Holocaust) To him the Jews were an inferior race the needed to be eliminated. He thought that by using anti-semitism he would become more popular with the crowd. “While imprisoned, Hitler wrote,
First we need to clarify what is Anti-Semitism, a term that references the prejudice or hostility against the Jews. Known as the persecution of Jews, Anti-Semitism did not only happen in Germany, it had long been part of the history and tradition of other countries including the United States. However, the level of persecution in Germany changed dramatically after Hitler came to power in 1933.
Beginning in 1933, Hitler and his Nazi party targeted not only those of the Jewish religion but many other sets. Hitler was motivated by religion and nationalism to eradicate any threats to his state. It was Hitler’s ideology that his Aryan race was superior to any other. Hitler’s goal was to create a “master race” by eliminating the chance for “inferiors” to reproduce. Besides the Jews the other victims of the genocide include the Roma (Gypsies), African-Germans, the mentally disabled, handicapped, Poles, Slavs, Anti-Nazi political parties, Jehovah’s Witnesses, and Homosexuals. In Hitler’s eyes all of these groups needed to be eliminated in order for his master race to be a success.
“All propaganda has to be popular and has to accommodate itself to the comprehension of the least intelligent of those whom it seeks to reach,” Adolf Hitler (The National World War Museum). The German Nazi dictator utilized his power over the people using propaganda, eventually creating a sense of hatred towards Jews. After World War 1, the punishments of the League of Nations caused Germany to suffer. The Nazi party came to blame the Jews in order to have a nationwide “scapegoat”. This hatred and prejudice towards Jews is known as anti-semitism.
Adolf Hitler was the leader of the German government and leader of the Nazis. The Nazis, under Hitler’s rule, believed unifying all German people to create a super-community. From the text, I gleaned that the Nazi’s developed the anti-Semitic doctrine, a dogma that