Kristallnacht: the beginning of the end
Kristallnacht, or the Night of Broken Glass, stands as a chilling and pivotal event in the history of Nazi Germany and the Holocaust. Taking place on the night of November 9-10, 1938, it was a short period of orchestrated violence, destruction and terror targeting Jewish people, businesses and institutions. This brutal assault marked a significant turning point in the persecution of Jews under the Nazi regime, foreshadowing the horrors that would follow and the attempt to exterminate every Jew in Europe.
The pretext for Kristallnacht
The pretext for Kristallnacht was the assassination of German diplomat Ernst vom Rath. On 7 November 1938, a 17-year-old Polish Jew, Herschel Grynszpan, shot vom Rath. A few days earlier, Nazi authorities had expelled thousands of Jews of Polish citizenship living in Germany – including Grynszpan’s parents. A desperate Grynszpan appeared at the German Embassy in Paris, France to kill vom Rath, who died on 9 November 1938.
Vom Rath’s death was seized upon by Nazi authorities as an opportunity to unleash a wave of antisemitic violence. However, it is clear that this assassination merely served as a convenient pretext for a meticulously planned operation that had been in the making for some time.
Nazi Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels was speaking at a Nazi Party event in Munich on 9 November 1938. He accused ‘World Jewry’ of conspiring to assassinate the Nazi official and his speech incited spontaneous outbursts of violence against Jewish people across Nazi Germany.
In the early hours of 10 November 1938, Nazi SS official Reinhard Heydrich issued a telegram to all police stations and German districts. It announced that demonstrations against the Jews were expected in all parts of the Third Reich later that day.
In this announcement, titled ‘Measures against Jews tonight’, instructions were not to ‘endanger German lives or property’. This meant that synagogues (Jewish places of worship) were permitted to be ‘burned down only where there is no danger of fire in neighbouring buildings’ belonging to German citizens. The instruction also stated that businesses and apartments belonging to Jews ‘may be destroyed but not looted’.
Erupting violence against Jews
As the sun set on 9 November 1938, throughout Nazi Germany and its annexed territories, which included Austria and the Sudetenland in Czechoslovakia, Nazi paramilitary forces, known as the SA and SS, along with Hitler Youth and mobs of German civilians, embarked on a night of orchestrated destruction.
To add to the deception of public outrage, some members of these groups didn’t wear uniforms. Mobs roamed the streets, attacking Jews in their houses and forcing them to perform acts of public humiliation.
Jewish communities in places like Berlin and Vienna were targeted and despite the outward appearance of spontaneous violence, these attacks were planned and supported by Nazi Party officials.
The streets were soon filled with the sound of shattering glass as Jewish-owned businesses, homes and synagogues were vandalised and destroyed. The name ‘Kristallnacht; itself derived from the vast amount of broken glass that littered the streets. This destruction was not only an attack on physical property but also a targeted assault on the heart of Jewish culture and identity.
Synagogues, symbols of religious and cultural significance to the Jewish community, were ruthlessly set ablaze. The sight of these sacred spaces engulfed in flames sent shock waves throughout the world. It was a deliberate attack on the core of Jewish identity, an attempt to erase centuries of heritage and culture.
Death toll and arrests
The violence extended far beyond property damage. Jewish individuals were brutally assaulted, and many lost their lives. The official death toll of 91, while tragic, is believed to be an underestimate, as many deaths went unreported or were covered up by the Nazi authorities.
During Kristallnacht, 30,000 Jewish men were arrested by the Nazis. Their only ‘crime’ was being Jewish. The Nazi leadership instructed these Jewish men to be transported to concentration camps, such as Dachau, Buchenwald, and Sachsenhausen.
Kristallnacht was the first instance in which the Nazis incarcerated Jews on a massive scale. The Nazis released the arrested Jewish men if they showed proof of their plans to leave Germany permanently.
These activities foreshadowed the mass arrests and deportations that would later characterise the Holocaust.
William Cooper – Aboriginal activist who stood up for persecuted European Jews
When the majority of the world was silent about Kristallnacht, one Yorta Yorta Elder from Victoria stood up for the persecuted Jews of Germany and Austria. This man was William Cooper.
Cooper was not only concerned with the plight of his own people, but was moved by the extreme discrimination faced by the Jews living in Europe.
On 6 December 1938, less than a month after Kristallnacht, Cooper led a 2-hour 11km march to the German consulate in Melbourne. They planned to present the Consular General of Germany with a letter of protest. German officials refused to take the written condemnation, did not allow the delegation to enter the building and turned them away. This protest was one of only a very few of its kind in the world. The letter was left for the Consul to forward it to the German Government. The letter read, ‘On behalf of the Aboriginal inhabitants of Australia, we wish to have it registered and on record that we protest wholeheartedly at the cruel persecution of the Jewish people by the Nazi Government in Germany. We plead that you would make it known to your government and its military leaders that this cruel persecution of their fellow citizens must be brought to an end.’
At the time, William Cooper was 77 years of age, so the trip was slow, and he was in declining health, however, he was determined to protest. What makes William Cooper’s story of bravery even more remarkable is that Aboriginal people weren’t even recognised as Australian citizens at the time. William’s grandson, Uncle Alf ‘Boydie’ Turner, said: ‘When many countries around the world would not act, he did.’
International voices
The international community reacted with a mixture of horror and condemnation. Governments and organisations around the world condemned the violence, but their responses varied in scope and effectiveness.
The sad reality was that global action fell short of what was required to prevent further atrocities. The world was witnessing not only the physical destruction of Jewish property but also the dismantling of a society’s very fabric, a prelude to the horrors that were yet to unfold.
Kristallnacht laid bare the true nature of Nazi antisemitism. It was no longer confined to discriminatory laws and propaganda; it had escalated into unbridled violence and chaos. This event was a turning point that signalled the intensification of the persecution of Jews, a transition from systematic oppression to outright brutality.
What could Jews do after Kristallnacht?
Following the events of Kristallnacht, emigration was now an immediate and urgent necessity for Jews living in Germany and Austria. For many reasons, however, it was difficult for Jewish individuals and families to escape the escalating threat of the Nazi regime – evidenced by the heightened violence and terror of Kristallnacht.
Since 1933, the Nazi Government had systematically deprived Jews of their rights and livelihoods, while using anti-Jewish laws and antisemitic propaganda to increasingly segregate and isolate Jewish people in the Third Reich. Boycotts and other economic measures introduced by the Nazi regime reduced people’s ability to flee. For those who were able to leave, they often had to leave their belongings behind.
Some neighbouring European nations created legislation that mirrored the Nazis’ Nuremberg Laws. Beyond Europe, the proceedings of the Evian Conference demonstrated that, even if many Jewish people could easily leave Nazi Germany and Austria, which countries would permit them to enter?
The impact of Kristallnacht reverberates today
The aftermath of Kristallnacht left scars that ran deep. The shattered glass was a poignant metaphor for the shattered lives and shattered dreams of the Jewish community. The event served as a wake-up call, a stark reminder that hatred, prejudice and unchecked power could lead to unimaginable horrors.
In the broader context of history, Kristallnacht shows us the dangers of unchecked bigotry and discrimination. It serves as a solemn testament to the importance of safeguarding human rights, promoting tolerance, and preventing the rise of ideologies that seek to dehumanise and marginalise others.
Kristallnacht stands as a haunting reminder that evil can escalate rapidly if left unchallenged. It serves as a call to remember the victims, honour their memory, and ensure that such atrocities are never repeated. Kristallnacht is a somber chapter in the human story, a chapter that compels us to confront the darkest aspects of our past in order to build a better future.
