Kristallnacht

Night of Broken Glass

November Pogroms

November 9, 1938: anti-Jewish violence in all Reich

controlled land. Seemed to be random violence sparked
by the actions of one young man. They were not
random- orchestrated.
There were warning signs leading up to this. For 5 years
Hitler had been in power and made it clear that
Germany would only be populated by Germans.
Convinced no one cared about the Jews. Nazis took
drastic measures. Deported 17,000 Jews of Polish
descent. October 1938 put on trains and taken to border.
Only one suitcase and 10 marks. At the border 8,000
people not allowed back into Germany or into Poland.
For a year held in refuge camps.

The Grynszpan family among the refugees. Mrs.

Grynszpan wrote her son Herschel who was
living in Paris with an aunt and uncle. Herschel
was 17 years old.
Herschel had grown up in Hanover. He parents
had grown up in a part of Russia that had once
been a part of Poland. After WWI they became
Polish citizens and moved to Germany.
Herschel was very angry. Believed they were
being unfairly targeted. He was also facing
trouble of his own. He could not become a
citizen of France and if he was caught in Paris
he, too, would be deported to Poland.
Options: he could go to Poland or join the
French Foreign Legion. His family moved leaving
him alone. He was frustrated and desperate
when he got news of his parents from his sister,
Esther on November 3, 1938.

His uncle refused to send money to help his

family. On November 7th, with no other
option, Herschel bought a revolver, loaded it,
and went to the Germany Embassy.
He got inside saying he had important
information for the ambassador. He was
taken to see vom Rath.
He shot at vom Rath five times. Two of the
shots hit vom Rath. Staff helped vom Rath
and restrained Herschel, who did not resist.
Hitler sent his personal doctors to Paris but
vom Rath died on November 9th. Herschel
was taken to a French jail. Being arrested by
the French meant the Germans could not
have him. He was imprisoned while he
awaited trail.

Nazis used this to their advantage. Wanted

people to believe what the government told
them. Four hours later the first headline released.
Told people Herschel did this under the orders of a
Jewish organization. Message became that all
Jews were to blame.
In this the excuse for the killing and violence of
Kristallnacht was born.
It was not just a 24 hour period of violence but a
four day pogrom.
Began with a series of local riots in smaller towns.
By November 8th more rights were started by local
and regional Nazis. Did not stop until the next
morning.
Hitler told Joseph Goebbels, Nazis should not lead
or organize demonstrations or riots but if they
happen- do not stop them.

Most of the people who participated were Nazi SA

and German citizens. Thousands of Germans,
mostly women, participated in the plunder.
By the end of November 11th, 7,500 business and
275 synagogues were destroyed or burned. There
was no accurate record of how many houses and
apartments were damaged.
91 Jews were killed. Some died defending their
homes, some were abused and died of their
injuries. Some committed suicide. No records of the
number who were beaten and survived.
30,000 Jewish men (ages 16 to 60) were arrested
and shipped to either Sachsenhausen (near Berlin),
Buchenwald (near Erfurt) or Dachau (near
Munich). Those who survived were released 5-6
months later. 5,000 died in the camps.

Persecution got worse. Stricter laws. Children could

not go to school unless they were segregated.
Could not own or drive cars. Sell business to Aryans
or close them. Could not attend public events.
Not allowed to turn the damages into insurance
companies. They had to pay for the repairs
themselves. On top of that they were fined 1 billion
marks to be divided among all Jews.
In order to leave Germany had to get a visa. In
order to get a visa had to prove you had financial
means. Due to paying for Kristallnacht and the new
laws that made it hard for Jews to work, getting a
visa became extremely hard.
Time was running out. In less than a year the war
would start, the German borders would close, and
all the Jews would be trapped. Kristallnacht was the
defining start of the Holocaust.

Joseph Goebbels

Minister of Propaganda and Public

Enlightenment. Early supporter of Nazism but
fell short of Aryan ideal. He had polio as a
child and had a limp. Devout Catholic.
Had a favorite professor in his doctorate
program- Jewish. Had a girlfriend- Jewish.
Became deeply anti-Semitic.
Was a writer. Sent work to publishers but was
rejected. Blamed it on the Jews he thought
owned the business.
Heard Hitler speak on Nazism. 1925 went to
work for the Nazi party. Met Hitler. Broke up
with girlfriend.

Hitler impressed with the speeches written by

Goebbels. Named him head of Nazi
propaganda.
He led the boycott of Jewish businesses in
1933 and the book burning in Berlin.
He and Hitler worked together to set the
policy for Kristallnacht.
Burning and looting businesses, synagogues,
and schools. Houses and apartments
ransacked. Men arrested and sent to camps.
Only to intervene if Aryan property at risk.
November 10th- called a halt to
demonstrations but said they had been
justified.

At the end of the war he and

his family were in the bunker
with Hitler. When the Russians
were within a mile of the
bunker on April 30, 1945 Hitler
committed suicide.
The next night his wife, Magda,
mixed a sleeping potion with
the childrens food and when
they were asleep fed them a
spoonful of poison. Once they
were dead, they killed each
other.

Hannele Zrndorfer

She and her family were one of two Jewish

families in a small town outside of Dusseldorf. Felt
very German. Celebrated Christmas and Easter.
Lost her friends. Saw a change at school. Had to
stand and salute Hitler every day. She didnt want
to and her teacher didnt make her.
1937 law said she couldnt go to a German
school. Travel an hour to go to a Jewish school in
Dusseldorf. Still felt safe at home. Kristallnacht
changed that.

About 4am she heard the sound of break glass

and dishes. They came into her home and
destroyed their possessions and terrorized them.
Only room spared was the childrens.
Neighbors brought food and supplies. Families
outside Germany pleaded for them to leave.
Hennele and Lotte went to England to live with
relatives. Parents stayed until their papers were
approved.
Lived in an attic apartment in London until the
bombings started and then outside of London to
live with volunteer families.
Parents sent to Lodz ghetto in Poland in October
1941. father died there in 1943 of a heart attack.
No word on what happened to their mother.

Fred Spiegel

Lived in Dinslaken. Bullied

because he was Jewish. Was 6
years old when Kristallnacht
happened.
Forced from their home. People
threw rocks at them and spit at
them.
He and his sister were sent to the
Netherlands to live with relatives.
Mother got visa to work as a maid
in England.
10 May 1940 Netherlands invaded
by Germany. Sent to live with
another relative. 10 April 1943
arrested and taken to Vaught
(camp). 6 weeks later sent to
Westerbork (camp)

Supposed to board a train for Sobibor or

Auschwitz. Started yelling and taken to a
holding cell. Learned later between March
and August 1943 that 35,000 Jews sent to
Sobibor. Only 19 of them survived.
His uncle got Fred and his sister free. Showed
letters from their mother in England. Claimed
they were British citizens.
11 January 1944 sent to Bergen-Belsen.
Housed in exchange camp. Considered
foreign nationals. Trying to trade them for
German POWs.
After the war reunited with their mother. 1952
immigrated to Israel and joined the army.
Eventually moved to the U.S.

Ernest Fontheim

Berlin. Well integrated. Grew up

knowing little about Judaism
except he was Jewish.
On the way home from school he
saw a synagogue burning. Ran to
see what was happening. Saw a
mob at the home of a Jewish
man. They beat down his door
and them beat the man bloody.
He made it home safely. His father
had to hide to avoid being
arrested. Could no longer
practice the law. Trapped in
Germany.

 Forced

to work at Siemens electronics

factory making war materials. Segregated
and watched. Not allowed to use the
lunchroom. Only use the bathroom at
9am and 1pm. Kept him from being sent
to a camp.
Parents twice and scheduled for
transport. Ernest hid out. Got papers
showing himself as a German and worked
in a defense plant. Survived the war. His
family died at Auschwitz. Emigrated to the
U.S. and became a scientist.

Marianne Strauss

Essen, Germany. 319 men arrested during

Kristallnacht including her uncle and father.
Taken to Dachau. Returned 3 weeks later.
Got a bill for damages. To be paid in 3
installments. First due on December 15th. Paid
on time but was still charged an extra late
fee.
Applications for visas were rejected. 12 days
after they were finally approved they were at
war and they could not leave.

October 1941 parents deported to Lodz ghetto.

When they were ready to get on the train they
were told to go home.
Her father agreed to go to the U.S. and be a
spy.
1943 last Jews remaining in Essen. Rest had left
or been sent to the camps. August 31, 1943 told
they would be deported to the east. She
escaped.
Family taken to Essen prison to wait, then to
Theresienstadt and then to Auschwitz where
they were killed in July 1944.
She survived and went to England where she
had a family.

Jurgen Herbst

German Christian family. Father fought in

WWI. Father did not want to join the Nazi
Party or the SA. Did not respect Hitler and told
Jurgen not to join the S.S.
Was 10 years old when he had to join the
Jungvolk. Did not enjoy the meetings.
During Kristallnacht he saw SS soldiers
standing by and watching buildings burn.
Could not understand why they did not help
put out the fires.

At school he learned about a family who was taken

away and lost everything. His mother told him that
could have been him if he had been a Jew.
He was learning there was a difference in being a
Jew and being German. Did not understand the
enemies were next door not in another country. Did
not understand he was supposed to hate Jews.
At age 13 he became the leader of the
Jungvolkfhrer and at 16 became an instructor of
Hitler Youth Leadership Training School. Did not
understand why the church was a threat. He quietly
chose the church and renoucned Nazism.
Right before the end of the war called for basic
training. Wanted to be a good soldier but not a Nazi.
Returned hom. Father had died, mother was in bad
health. Held him finish school.
1948 came to the U.S. and became a professor of
education.

Arnold Blum

16 years old. Stuttgart.

November 11th- two Gestapo agents
arrested him and his uncle. Thrown in jail
with almost all the Jewish men in town.
Only a pail in the corner for a bathroom.
Taken 3 hours by bus to Dachau.
Marched inside at mid-afternoon and
made to stand there until 9pm. Not able
to use the restroom. Allowed to go inside
but had to leave shoes outside. So many
crammed inside that most had to sleep
on the floor.

Got up early but the shoes were all thrown

together. Mismatched and ill-fitting. First day
was processing- no meals. They were
photographed, fingerprinted, and assigned a
number.
Their hair was shaved. They were hosed down
in the showers, examined medically, and
given ill-fitting clothes.
In the barracks given a spoon and a plate to
share with another prisoner.
At Sachsenhausen they made 62 men run
through two rows of SS soldiers who beat
them with clubs, shovels, and whips. At the
end 12 were dead and others badly beaten.

weeks later Arnold was released.

Meals were the worst. Had to eat blood
sausage which was against his dietary
laws. At it in order to survive. When he was
released he was given a ham sandwich
to eat. He was criticized for eating it. He
chose life over religious laws.
April 1939 emigrated to U.S. Joined the
army. After the war he stayed to help with
postwar relations.
Became an engineer and lived in the U.S.

Alfred Werner

Austrian Jew. Did not know how this would

affect him. Life had been hard since they had
been annexed.
Arrested. Shared a cell with 50-60 other Jews.
Number increased. Taken to the SS barracks.
Spent a week there getting only small
amounts of tea and bread.
Guard would tell them to choose a prisoner to
pay for the sins of the others. Refused so
another prisoner was taken and never seen
again.

 Put

in cattle cars and taken to

Dachau. Placed in group of 800
men and given the number
27,600.
Christmas 1938 the commander
erected a giant 15 foot tall
Christmas tree in the parade
yard. Confused them because
the Nazis opposed religion.
After a few months his visa for
the U.S. was approved. Became
a well respected art historian.