Kristallnacht - "Night of Broken Glass"

On the night spanning November 9th and 10th, 1938, there was a wave of anti-Jewish pogroms (attacks or riots) across Germany, Austria, and other neighboring countries. These pogroms were put into action by the Nazi Party in Germany.  The name "Kristallnacht" was coined due to all of the shattered glass on the streets from broken windows of Jewish synagogues, homes, and businesses.  267 synagogues were destroyed and burned to the ground.  Local fire fighters were ordered to only keep the fires from spreading to other buildings, not to put the fires out.  Roughly 7,000 Jewish businesses were vandalized and looted.

The Nazi Party claimed that what happened on the Kristallnacht was a spontaneous outburst by the non-Jewish public in response to a 17-year-old Jew shooting and killing German embassy official, Ernst vorn Rath.  What happened on that night, however, was anything but a spontaneous act by the public.  Hitler Youth units dressed as civilians to take part in these riots and had very specific directions.    No risks were to be taken if there was a possibility of harming non-Jewish property.  No foreigners were to be subject to the violence.  All synagogue archives were to be removed and brought to the custody of the Security Service prior to the units vandalizing and burning the buildings.  Policemen were to arrest as many Jews as possible - primarily healthy young men.

Nearly 100 Jews were killed and nearly 30,000 male Jews were arrested that night, and most of them were transferred straight from jail to concentration camps.  The Kristallnacht was the first time that Nazi officials ordered the arrest of Jews solely because of their heritage.

After the Kristallnacht, the Nazi Party claimed that the events of that night were at the fault of hte Jews themselves, and therefore did not allow them to claim insurance to cover the costs of their destroyed businesses, homes, and synagogues.  This was the start of many anti-Jewish laws that took away basically any rights they had.  Throughout the following weeks, months, and years, the Nazi Party in Germany became far more radical in its action against Jews.

Sources:

Category. "Opinio Juris  » Blog Archive   » Kristallnacht Remembered." Opinio Juris  . N.p., n.d. Web. 11 May 2013. .

"Kristallnacht: A Nationwide Pogrom, November 9–10, 1938." United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 May 2013. .

"The American Experience.America and the Holocaust.People & Events | "Kristallnacht" | PBS." PBS: Public Broadcasting Service. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 May 2013. .

"kristallnacht | WW2 Resource." WW2 Resource | History online.. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 May 2013. .