Overall, I think that Source D and Source E make it more likely that the account given in Source C is accurate as, like before, certain factors link up. For example, Source D comments on the build up of ‘Kristallnacht’ and Source E supports the idea that the SS and SA had intervened with ‘Kristallnacht’. All three sources are fairly reliable and both source D and Source E support the information given in Source C.
D) Study Sources F and G.
How similar are the messages of these two cartoons? Explain your answer with reference to the detail in the cartoons.
Both of the sources, source F and source G, are cartoons on ‘Kristallnacht’ which were both published after the event. They agree that the Nazi’s are responsible and to blame for ‘Kristallnacht’.
We know this because we see in source F Tsar Nicholas II who encouraged attacks against the Jews. It shows the reader of the Russian magazine that it didn’t do him any good and tells the Nazi’s to watch what they are doing. This previous Russian leader could be seen in the cartoon as an apparition. We see another man in the source representing the Nazi’s. This man is looking at Tsar and listening to what he has to say. We know that this man is a Nazi as he is in uniform. The Nazi is holding a knife in his hand symbolises that the Nazi’s clearly use violence to get what they want. The knife is dripping with blood and this encourages the reader to assume that he has just killed a Jew. In his other hand, he is holding a baseball bat with nails sticking out. This implies that the Nazis don’t only stab the Jews, but use extreme violence in torturing them. The Nazi has watches hanging from him and this could symbolises that the Nazi’s have taken this from the Jews after killing them or that time is running out for them in their regime of hatred towards Jews. It proves that the Nazi’s had no heart and are very greedy.
Overall, I think that this source clearly blames the Nazis for ‘Kristallnacht’ and not the German people. It shows the Nazi’s violence used towards Jews and I think that the SS and the SA are responsible for ‘Kristallnacht’.
Source G gives a slightly different message but still implies that the Nazis are responsible. We see a Nazi officer holding a baseball bat in his hands. This clearly shows violence. Lying, by the officer’s feet, there is a dead body. This is what we presume to be a German Jew that the Nazi officer has beaten to a pulp. However, tied up and gagged is a German woman. This symbolises that the German people are defenceless to the Nazis. It also symbolises that the German people don’t go along with the Nazi ideas but don’t have freedom of speech. The stormy clouds in the sky add discontent to the cartoon and its ideas. It is also trying to get a point over to the British public that Germany needs help, by promoting itself in a British magazine.
Similarities between the two sources are that violence is common among the Nazis and that the events of ‘Kristallnacht’ are their doings. However, the most obvious similarity is that both of these sources blame the Nazis for ‘Kristallnacht’.
The differences of these two sources are that source F is Russian and source G is English. This is important as these are two very different cultures and different cultures do not always interpret the same things correctly. Also, source F shows the Nazi’s looting of the Jews possessions and source G is trying to get the point across that the German public is defenceless. I know this because in source G, the German citizen who is tied up and gagged is the focus of the cartoon and the Nazi officer and dead Jew are in the background.
I think that the two sources are fairly similar because they are both trying to get the point across that the Nazis are responsible for ‘Kristallnacht’ and this is the focus of agreement for both sources.
E) Study Sources H and I.
How far does source I prove that Goering was telling the truth in source H?
Source I proves that Goering was telling the truth in source H to a certain extent. Source H blames Goebbels for ‘Kristallnacht’ “it was not acceptable to me that he should upset my difficult economic tasks by destroying so much Jewish property of economic value and by causing so many disturbances in economic life”. This suggests Goering’s anger at Goebbels for wasting so much. It also tells us that Hitler apologised on Goebbels behalf. The reliability though is questionable because if it were Goering organising ‘Kristallnacht’, he would have wanted to push the blame on someone else at the time because he was on trial for war crimes.
Source I tells us that Hitler disapproved with ‘Kristallnacht’, and that he was definitely not pleased with the person who organised it as he wanted to come with an understanding with France and that wouldn't happen after the events of ‘Kristallnacht’. It tells us that Hitler never wanted it to happen.
This source supports H by agreeing that Hitler disapproved of ‘Kristallnacht’, but has nothing it that mentions Goering’s theory that Goebbels was behind it all. A factor of unreliability is that it is reported over 30 years later by Frau Troost in an interview. This factor suggests that she may have had a lapsed memory after all that time. I have learned that Frau Troost was a close friend of Hitler’s and in theory, as a close friend, she would deny anything with Hitler being involved in ‘Kristallnacht’ to try and defend him.
Overall, the only factors of source I that prove Goering was telling the truth in source H is that Hitler disapproved of ‘Kristallnacht’. I don’t think that there is enough matching evidence in the two sources to prove Goering was telling the truth in Source H.
F) Study all the sources.
‘Kristallnacht was a spontaneous event by the German people’. How far do these sources support that claim?
To determine whether the statement, ‘Kristallnacht was a spontaneous event by the German people’ we must examine each source carefully. To do this, we have to see what the source tells us and how reliable it is. There are 3 different theories between these 9 different sources. Source A states how it was Goebbels idea whilst source H agrees with this. Source B and I both show that ‘Kristallnacht’ was a spontaneous event from the German public. It is hard to obtain which sources are reliable and which aren’t. This is because every source was written from someone who had their own opinions and this makes all of the sources biased, although some more than others. However the most popular theory is that it was a planned event by the Nazi’s. Sources C, D, E, F and G both back this up.
Source A tells us that Goebles planned ‘Kristallnacht’ with the SA to gain Hitler’s support towards him, “it was clear that Goebbels, who at the time was out of favour with Hitler was trying to win back his support.” Factors that doubt the reliability of source A is that it is a summary and therefore a reinterpreted version of the events that took place. Also, the fact that it was written in 1954 makes it less reliable. I think this because it was written 16 years after the event and therefore ones memory may be blurred. Fritz Hesse was a journalist and he could have made some of these things up to make his work more interesting to the public; he could of heard rumours and broadcasted it. Overall, I think that this doesn’t support the statement because the source clearly implies that Goebbels and the SA were involved and it was planned, not a ‘spontaneous event caused by the German people’.
Source B tells us that Goebbels had informed the party leaders at the dinner party that there had been “anti-Jewish demonstrations”. I think that this implies that ordinary German people performed ‘Kristallnacht’. It also says that it wasn’t organised by the Nazi party but that they wouldn’t discourage the demonstrations
Source B seems reliable - it was from a secret report prepared by the Nazi Supreme Court, the highest authority. It gives the true Nazi point of view, as it is secret and not meant to be read by the public.
Source C follows the idea that it was organised by Hitler, the SS and the SA and not a ‘spontaneous event by the German people’. It is a very reliable account of what happened and was compiled from interviews and eye witnesses from when it was happening.
Source D tells us that there is tension between the Nazis and Jews even weeks before ‘Kristallnacht’. Jews were banned from the cinema and certain anti-Jewish shops. I think that this source is fairly reliable because it was written before ‘Kristallnacht’ so it shows truth in how the Jews were being treated. There is no need to lie in this source so it shows the truth. It shows the build-up to ‘Kristallnacht’. Overall, I think that this source implies that it was a ‘spontaneous event by the German people’ because, for example, people owning shops did not want them in there. This expresses their hatred towards the Jews.
Source E tells us the destructions “of Jewish businesses, houses and synagogues” and suggests that the German people have nothing to do with the ‘Kristallnacht’ but the SS and SA do. It proves that the Nazi police supplied the SA and SS with axes, housebreaking tools, ladders and a list of the addresses of all the Jewish residents and shops. Source E is reliable as it is signed “a civil servant” and is anonymous. There is no need to lie and that’s why I think that this source is truthful. Overall, I think that this source is reliable so we can believe what is written. It isn’t supporting the quote because it suggests that the events of ‘Kristallnacht’ were performed by the SA.
In the cartoons (source F and source G) they support the theory that ‘Kristallnacht’ was organised by the Nazi’s and not by the German public like the quote suggests. Both of the sources are reliable.
Source H blames Goebbels for ‘Kristallnacht’ “it was not acceptable to me that he should upset my difficult economic tasks by destroying so much Jewish property of economic value and by causing so many disturbances in economic life”. It also tells us that Hitler apologised on Goebbels behalf; so therefore, I think that Goebbels must have done something wrong for Hitler to apologise about. The reliability of this source is good, with only a few exceptions to doubt it. Firstly, Goering and Goebbels were well known enemies. This suggests that Goering may want to blame Goebbels for ‘Kristallnacht’ for the sheer fact that he hated him. Secondly, if it were Goering organising ‘Kristallnacht’, he would have wanted to push the blame on someone else at the time because he was on trial for war crimes. I think that this source disagrees with the quote because Goering is blaming Goebbels for ‘Kristallnacht’, and Goebbels being part of the Nazi party, proves that ‘Kristallnacht’ was a Nazi-related event.
Source I tells us that Hitler disapproved with ‘Kristallnacht’, and that he was definitely not pleased with the person who organised it. Hitler never wanted it to happen. This source is fairly reliable because there is nothing to suggest that it lies. However, a factor of unreliability is that it is reported over 30 years later by Frau Troost in an interview. This suggests that she may have had a lapsed memory. I have learned that Frau Troost was a close friend of Hitler’s and in theory, as a close friend, she would deny anything with Hitler being involved in Kristallnacht to try and defend him. I believe that this source indicates that neither the German people nor the Nazi party was involved with ‘Kristallnacht’.
In conclusion, I think that ‘Kristallnacht’ was not a ‘spontaneous event by the German people’. This is because only three out of the nine sources supports this claim and the evidence that backs it up is misleading, confusing and from unreliable origins. There is far more evidence in the sources that Goebbels organised ‘Kristallnacht’ with the SS and the SA in order to impress Hitler who he was out of favour with. However, Source A, Source G and Source I clearly show that Hitler did not approve of it “he agreed that such events must not be allowed to take place”. I have also learnt that Hitler didn’t discourage Kristallnacht once it had taken place “Hitler squealed with delight and slapped his leg with enthusiasm”, and in Source B “such demonstrations were not to be organised by the party, but neither were they discouraged”. Therefore, I think that the statement ‘Kristallnacht was a spontaneous event by the German people’ is untrue and the vast majority of the sources do not support this claim.
