"Crystal Night": The Night of the Broken Glass
A Whole lifetime of work, gone in a violent evening. Sometimes
even generations of work, a family's work, gone in an evening. While the
History of Krystallnacht, or "Crystal Night" will be described here; what
happened in the heart cannot be adequately described.
"Krystallnacht" was so called because of a deliberate but veiled edict which went out from the Reich to thoroughly destroy, ransack and loot all Jewish Business. Violent men, some in uniform and some not went through town and cities, smashing glassfront windows, looting and confiscating Jewish businessesdestroying synagogues and even bursting into houses and killing innocent people in their beds.
The night was characterized because of the thousands upon thousand of tiny shards of broken glass which covered the ground the next morning. The Jewswho were rounded up and incarcerated became known as the "November Jews"and were among the first of mass deportations and imprisonments which wereto take place over the next few years. In the morning following the nightof Broken Glass, the Jews left behind were forced to clean up the brokenglass and ransacked shops. Further, upon discussion, certain members of the Reich including Goring decided that Jews were then required to file for insurance coverage of the damage and turn over the amounts to the Third Reich.1
The Aetiology of Krystallnacht
Why would the Nazi's deliberately in the pre-war period do such a tragic thing? It was not only because of socioeconomic conditions and Anti-Semitism,but was presented as retaliation for an incident which had just occurred forwhich a young Jewish man had been blamed. Shortly before Krystallnacht, a young man name Grynspan whose parents had been deported in one of the massive early Polish deportations was enraged. Even as early in the war as 1939, the Jews hadno access to the court systems or any other hearing process: when intense wavesof injustice began at the hand of the Third Reich, there was no appeal process: all appeals if there were any at all went through Nazi officials. Grynspan, only 19(?) at the time, walked into the office of a middle-line Nazi official he had known and whom his family had known on the pretext of discussing some paperwork.He fired point blank several times into Vom Rath's chest, vom Wrath died shortly afterwards. The Nazis
used this incident to their best propaganda advantage.They
claimed that this was a perfect example of the instability and trouble the
Jews caused in Europe. They called for massive "aktions" to protest this
incident. Their terrible hypocrisy was evident: they called for violent
pogroms against all Jews for the alleged actions of one: while they
without cause were already wellunderway killing and persecuting thousands
of innocents.
There is not very much of a question that the Nazis had already planned and orchestratedtheir mass 'aktion': once the word was given, police officers, townspeople, stormtroopersand other officials acted with their well-known precision in cruelty and destruction:the day of the attack, the press carried stories; police departments gave thier orders;soldiers moved into position; and local groups armed themselves: it was hardly an unorganized display of passion.
The Night of the Broken Glass
That evening in communities all over Poland and Germany,
Jews were dragged sleeping from their beds, and killed in the
streets, often with cotton taped in their mouths to muffle screams and
crying. Synagogues were set on fire and burned; while sacred items such as
Torah Scrolls and furnishings were ruined, burned and urinated on. Jewish
businesses were smashed and looted: Jews were forced into the streets;men
whose beards had neverbeen cut for religious reasons were shaved publicly
by taunting Nazi soldiers, and Jews were beaten and forced to collect the
glass shards. As mentioned earlier, Jewish business owners, many who held
title to business which had been in their familiesfor generations, were
required to carry expensive insurance on their shops. After
Krystallnacht,the Jewish business owners that remained, were forced by the
Reich to file claims on the damage to their property. Once the claim was
settled, often in substantial amounts, for the damagewas complete, Jewish
business owners were required to hand over the entire amount of the
settlementsto the Third Reich. They were then deprived of their family
businesses, deported and often killed, and their businesses and homes were
confiscated and given to Germans.
The next morning, as the "November Jews" were rounded up in great numbers and deported to the Killing Centers especially of Auschwitz and Treblinka, the shattered glittering glass reflected thelives and promises the Jewish owners had so hoped in. Krystallnacht historically marks the most significant beginning to massive violent actions against the Jews, although the deportations had already started. It was a grand instance of the modus operandi of the Nazis: orchestrating asupposedly random event to give rationalization to cruelty. History always concludes, thatcruelty has no rationale.
1 Krystallnacht: The Night of Broken Glass
Boelke, The Secret Conferences of Josef Goebbels
noteSome have argued that the young Grynspan, age 19 at the time was having a affair with the older Vom Rath. This can hardly be accurately substantiated. Grynspan had found outthat his parents and family had been deported along with 10-20,000 others in a guarded moveto inter and kill Jews without the public knowing. While Vom Rath was only a middle-line,bureaucratic Nazi, he was known to Grynspan's family. The particular reasons for Vom Rath being the target as opposed to another official are not unquestionably known. Some have positedthat even that death could have been arranged, or conducted by someone else. Grynspan was notimmediately killed.< P>