Volume 12 , Issue 13

Remembering Kristallnacht - 9-10 Nov 1938

I know several Jewish friends, some that I have not met ? Yet! I would like to dedicate this to them in remembering something that drastically affected many lives on 9-10 November 1938.

It was called "Kristallnacht," also known as "Night of Broken Glass." The German Jews prefer to call it "Reichspogromnacht." Kristallnacht (German pronunciation: [kʁɪsˈtalˌnaxt]; literally "Crystal Night" or "Night of Broken Glass" was an anti-Jewish pogrom in Nazi Germany and Austria on 9-10 November 1938. It is also known as Novemberpogrome, Reichskristallnacht, Reichspogromnacht or Pogromnacht in German.



A pogrom is a form of riot directed against a particular group, whether ethnic, religious, or other, and characterized by killings and destruction of their homes, businesses, and religious centers. The term was originally used to denote extensive violence against Jews ? either spontaneous or premeditated ? but in English it is also applied to similar incidents against other minority groups.

Kristallnacht was triggered by the assassination in Paris of German diplomat Ernst vom Rath by Herschel Grynszpan, a German-born Polish Jew. In a coordinated attack on Jewish people and their property, 91 Jews were murdered and 25,000 to 30,000 were arrested and placed in concentration camps. 267 synagogues were destroyed, and thousands of homes and businesses were ransacked. This was done by the Hitler Youth, the Gestapo and the SS. Kristallnacht also served as a pretext and a means for the wholesale confiscation of firearms from German Jews.

While the assassination of Rath served as a pretext for the attacks, Kristallnacht was part of a broader Nazi policy of antisemitism and persecution of the Jews. Kristallnacht was followed by further economic and political persecutions. It is viewed by many historians as the beginning of the Final Solution, leading towards the genocide of the Holocaust. -- Wikipedia - Kristallnacht.

The following link shows a Timeline of Kristallnacht - Nov 9, 1938 - Kristallnacht occurred on November 9, 1938. The Berlin Wall came down exactly 51 years later. ? Berlin, one of the world's 10 largest Jewish centres before Kristallnacht, had a population of 160000 Jews. By the end of the Second World War, 1400 were left. Google Search - Kristallnacht.

We do NOT need another Kristallnacht or Civil War! Tear down that wall of Hate, Anger and Fear!
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