Honors Humanities 101

Mitchell Nguyen Tim Hendrix Jonathan Rivera

Question Six

What was crystal night? Were there different officials involved in the respective events? In Crakow, what kinds of events were happening to Jews personally What were happening to their synagogues? What kinds of people were part of the Judenrat? How did the Judenrat react to these different crises?

Kristallnacht (Crystal Night)

A pogrom against Jews throughout Nazi Germany and parts of Austria November 9, 1938 Occurred right before the outbreak of World War II Carried out by the SS paramilitary German authorities looked on without intervening Jewish owned stores and buildings were damaged. Hundreds of synagogues were destroyed 100,000 Jews were arrested

The Aftermath

The assassination of Ernst vom Rath was attributed to the Jewish community as a whole As a result, the Jewish community was fined more than 1 billion reichsmarks (5.5 billion USD today) 20% of all Jewish property was seized by the Nazi State 115,000 Jews emigrated to other countries to avoid further persecution Houses, shops, and businesses left behind were also seized German citizens like Oskar Shindler used this opportunity to acquire property and business

Involved Officials

Adolf Hitler: Blamed Jews for economic turmoil. Used the assassintion of Enrst von Rath as pretext for Kristallnacht Gestapo (Secret State Police): Investigated treason, espionage, and sabotage. No judicial oversight SS (Schutzstaffel): Official purpose was to protect Adolf Hitler, squelch political dissidents, and fight against subhumans Ordnungsdienst: Nazi regular police force