Kristallnacht facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Kristallnacht |
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The inside of the Fasanenstrasse Synagogue in Berlin after Kristallnacht
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| Location | Nazi Germany (then including Austria and the Sudetenland) Free City of Danzig |
| Date | 9–10 November 1938 12–13 November (in Danzig) |
| Target | Jews |
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Attack type
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Pogrom, looting, arson, mass murder, state terrorism |
| Deaths | 91+ |
| Assailants | Sturmabteilung (SA) stormtroopers, German civilians |
| Motive | Antisemitism |
Kristallnacht, also known as the Night of Broken Glass, was a terrible attack against Jews in Nazi Germany. It happened on November 9–10, 1938. Groups like the SA (a Nazi party army) and regular people attacked Jewish homes, businesses, and places of worship called synagogues. The German government did not try to stop these attacks.
The name Kristallnacht means "Crystal Night." It got this name because so much glass was broken. The streets were covered with shiny pieces of glass from smashed windows of Jewish stores and buildings.
During these attacks, Jewish homes, hospitals, and schools were badly damaged. Attackers used tools like sledgehammers to break down buildings. About 267 synagogues were destroyed across Germany, Austria, and an area called the Sudetenland. More than 7,000 Jewish businesses were also damaged or ruined. About 30,000 Jewish men were arrested and sent to concentration camps.
A historian named Martin Gilbert said that no other event for German Jews between 1933 and 1945 was reported so widely. News from foreign journalists in Germany shocked people around the world.
Why the Attacks Happened
The Nazis said the attacks were a response to an event in Paris. A 17-year-old Jewish boy named Herschel Grynszpan was living in Paris. He learned that his family had been forced to leave Germany and go to Poland. Even his younger brothers and sisters, who were born in Germany, were sent away.
On November 7, Grynszpan got a gun. He shot Ernst Eduard vom Rath, a German diplomat at the German embassy in Paris. Vom Rath died from his injuries on November 9.
It is not fully clear why Grynszpan did this. In a court hearing later, he said it was for revenge. He had meant to shoot the German ambassador, but he hit Ernst Eduard vom Rath instead.
The Nazis used vom Rath's death as an excuse for the widespread attacks. Early reports said that at least 91 Jews were killed during Kristallnacht.
The Horrible Events
During Kristallnacht, Nazi officials allowed SA soldiers and regular people to destroy Jewish stores. They used hammers to smash windows, leaving streets covered in broken glass. Many historians believe Kristallnacht was the start of the Final Solution. This was the Nazi plan to murder six million Jews during the Holocaust.
After Kristallnacht, many Jews tried to leave Germany. In the ten months that followed, over 115,000 Jews left the country. Most of them went to other European countries, the United States, or Palestine. At least 14,000 found safety in Shanghai, China.
The Nazi government took over the homes, shops, and other property that Jews left behind. Many of the broken items from Jewish properties were dumped near a town called Brandenburg.
In 2008, an investigative journalist named Yaron Svoray found this dumpsite. It was as big as four soccer fields. The site contained many personal and religious items that were stolen during the attacks on Jewish property and places of worship on November 9, 1938.
Images for kids
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Polish Jews expelled from Germany in late October 1938
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Herschel Grynszpan, November 7, 1938
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Kristallnacht, shop damage in Magdeburg
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A ruined synagogue in Munich after Kristallnacht
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A ruined synagogue in Eisenach after Kristallnacht
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Portrait of Paul Ehrlich, damaged on Kristallnacht, then fixed by a German neighbor
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After 1945 some synagogues were rebuilt. This one in Berlin has a plaque that says "Never forget"
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British Jews protest against immigration restrictions to Palestine after Kristallnacht, November 1938
See also
In Spanish: Noche de los cristales rotos para niños
