Paige Pollreisz Pollreisz 1 Ms. Jeanne Bitz Language Arts March 21, 2017 Kristallnacht Everyone knows that the Holocaust was a terrible event in world history. To better understand the Holocaust we need to know what led to Kristallnacht, what Kristallnacht was, and what happened during Kristallnacht. Herschel Grynspan was a young, Polish Jew (Gilbert)(“Kristallnacht” Holocaust Encyclopedia). His family was expelled from their home and out of the country. His sister sent him a letter telling of the horrors she experienced. Grynspan was outraged by the treatment of the Jews. He decided to buy a pistol and five bullets. He traveled to the German …show more content…
It is often referred to as the night of broken glass. The disaster was given the name Kristallnacht because of the shards of glass from the broken windows of stores and homes. It took place on November 9th and 10th, 1938, throughout Germany, Austria, and Czechoslovakia. After Kristallnacht, it was decided that Jews were to blame for the events (“Kristallnacht” Holocaust Education). Jewish owners of shops were held personally responsible for all costs and repairs of their buildings and shops (“Kristallnacht” Holocaust Encyclopedia). All Jews were held financially and legally responsible for all damages in the community during Kristallnacht (“Kristallnacht” Holocaust Education). German- Jewish communities were forced to pay $400 million dollars in the rates of 1938 for the expenses of Kristallnacht (“Kristallnacht” History). Jews were also forced to clean out burnt buildings and synagogues (“Kristallnacht” World). Kristallnacht was a turning point in Jew policies (“Kristallnacht: Background and Overview”). For example, Jews were barred from many public places including schools, they were given curfews, and they were forced to wear the Star of David at all times (“Events Leading up to Kristallnacht”). It is considered to be the beginning of the Holocaust (“Kristallnacht: Background and Overview”). After Kristallnacht, President Roosevelt allowed 12,000 to 15,000 refugees into the country that could remain indefinitely and …show more content…
Cemeteries were desecrated and Jewish books and sacred scrolls were burned by rioters who were ordered not to endanger non-Jewish life or property (“Kristallnacht” Holocaust encyclopedia)(“Kristallnacht” World)(“Kristallnacht” History). Nazis also killed 100 Jews and 30,000 others were put in jail (“Kristallnacht” History). Nazis arrested as many young, healthy, and mostly male Jews as local jails could hold (“People & Events: Kristallnacht”). Nazis also deported about 25,000 Jewish men to Dachau, Sachsenhausen, and Buchenwald concentration camps (“Kristallnacht” World)(Gilbert). It was the first mass imprisonment and deportation of Jews (“Events Leading up to Kristallnacht”). It is said that 267 synagogues were destroyed across Germany, Austria, and Czechoslovakia (“Kristallnacht” Holocaust Encyclopedia). It was also reported that 29 Jewish department stores, 815 other stores, and 117 houses were demolished in the area (Gilbert). Police and firefighters were ordered to do nothing about the destruction of the Jewish buildings unless it threatened non-Jewish structures or property (“Kristallnacht” History). Hitler’s chief of propaganda, Joseph Goebbels, said, “ We shed not a tear for the Jews. The synagogues have stood in the way long enough. We can use the space made free more usefully than as Jewish fortresses.” (“Kristallnacht: Background & Overview”)(“People & Events: