Tonight (Sunday) marks the 70th anniversary of Kristallnacht, the first Nazi pogrom against Jews. It is known as the Night of Broken Glass, marking the sheer quantity of broken glass left on the streets as a result of the rampage against synagogues and Jewish businesses and homes.
However, the name Kristallnacht provides no hint of the murderous and destructive nature of what happened that night: Over 90 Jews were murdered, 26,000 Jews were sent to concentration camps, close to 200 synagogues were burnt or razed, and almost 7,500 Jewish businesses were destroyed.
In fact, some Holocaust scholars object to the name Kristallnacht, saying it was invented by the Nazis themselves to both “prettify” the events and mock the Jews.
Transformation From Policy to Official Terrorism
“From a historical perspective,” writes former Knesset Speaker Ruby Rivlin in today’s Yisrael HaYom newspaper, “Kristallnacht was the transformation point from government policy of discrimination and racist legislation, to a new reality of racist, official, organized terrorism, directed against Jews as a defined ethnic group.”
The violence of Nov. 9-10, 1938 throughout Germany was the culmination of a series of anti-Jewish measures and laws instituted by the government in the preceding months, mainly restricting Jewish economic activity, and even requiring Jews to carry special identification. In October of that year, 17,000 Polish Jews, many of whom had been living in Germany for decades, were suddenly arrested and sent across the Polish border – where the Poles placed them in "relocation camps."
The young son of one of these relocated families, Herschel Greenspan – 17 years old and living in France with an uncle – responded to his family’s ruination by walking into the German embassy in Paris and firing several shots at German official Ernst Vom Rath. Two days later, on Nov. 9, Vom Rath died of his wounds.
'Such Demonstrations Need Not be Discouraged'
Hours later, the anti-Jewish pogrom broke out all across Germany – organized by Nazi propaganda chief Goebbels, who later said that they were only “spontaneous outbursts.” Goebbels was also quoted as saying that Hitler had “decided that such demonstrations are not to be prepared or organized by the party, but so far as they originate spontaneously, they are not to be discouraged either."
The Nazi leadership decided that the Jews should be officially blamed for the damage of Kristallnacht, and as such, were actually fined 6 million marks to compensate the insurance companies for the broken windows, as well as 1 billion marks for the death of Vom Rath.
Remembering Kristallnacht in Germany and Elsewhere
Israel’s Chief Rabbis have asked that Jews in Israel and around the world “light candles and leave lights on in synagogues and seminaries on [Sunday night], in order to remember and remind future generations never to forget the cruelty and evil actions that befell us.”
This, in response to the Nazis’ attempt “to darken Israel's eyes and turn off 'the light of the world', the light of the Torah and prayer that shone out of synagogues and seminaries," according to the joint message published by the Chief Rabbis and Welfare Minister Yitzchak Herzog.
A ceremony in commemoration of Kristallnacht was held in Berlin on Sunday, at which German Chancellor Angela Merkel said that Germans must not be indifferent to anti-Semitism. "Indifference is the first step towards endangering essential values," Merkel said during Germany's national memorial ceremony at the old synagogue in Berlin's Rykestrasse. "Germany needs a climate that encourages moral courage. Xenophobia, racism and anti-Semitism must never be given an opportunity in Europe again." This is just as true in Arab nations and in other parts of the world, Merkel added.
At Yad Vashem Holocaust Museum in Jerusalem on Sunday morning, Holocaust survivors and their descendants, academics, and the German and Austrian ambassadors to Israel took part in a memorial ceremony.
The Europe-based Aleph Institute will be holding an all-night Torah study on Sunday in commemoration of the victims. Chairman Rabbi Levi Kanelsky called on Jewish communities to convene on Sunday night for the recitation of the Kaddish prayer for Kristallnacht victims.
The World Zionist Federation published an educational packet on Kristallnacht, distributing it this past week to hundreds of teachers, rabbis, counselors and other educators around the world. The packet, in several languages, includes videos, computer presentations, and personal testimonials, as well as suggested Kristallnacht-related discussion topics.
The Mishkenot Shaananim international guesthouse in Jerusalem will hold a series of events marking Kristallnacht. The opening ceremony on Sunday will be attended by Minister Herzog and the German and Austrian ambassadors to Israel.