Why did kristallnacht take place?

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Coursework 2.

Why did kristallnacht take place?

  1. Which of these two sources would a historian studying kristallnacht find more useful?

Source A is a summary of a journalist’s column by another historian. The source tells us about an officer telling goebbles who then tells Hitler about a plan of mass attack, which he and the SA were going to launch against synagogues and Jewish shops. There was no doubt of Hitler’s approval “Hitler squealed with delight and slapped his leg with enthusiasm”.

Goebbles who at the time was out of favour with Hitler was trying to win back his approval. The journalist worked with the Nazis so his article could not be reliable.

Source B is a secret report from one nazi to another after the kristallnacht events. The source tells us about the devastation caused and may be warning the others of what to say and expect. This account would have been a secret and therefor he had been saying to another nazi “not to seem organised but neither were they to discourage the events.”

This essay states that both sources are useful, I would have thought that B was more useful because it’s a secret report BUT… the source shows, A is more helpful because its by a fellow historian and although he worked for the nazis, he wrote his account in 1954, 9 years after the war, so that he could not get punished by the nazis. So A is a better choice shown in this essay.

  1. What impression of kristallnacht does source C give?

The impression source C shows in this essay is that the actions of the kristallnacht made parts of Germany very dangerous.

It was all the cause of a Jew murdering Von Roth out of revenge. The attack was supposed to be spontaneous but the SS organised some weapons such as hammer axes and firebombs. Local crowds were horrified at the attacks on the Jews and were obviously kept in the darkness about it all.

Most of the people who fought were not German people they were stormtroopers and Nazis who were disguising the “spontaneous attack” by not being in uniform.

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Also the fire brigade was confined to adjoining buildings and no attempts were made to put out the other fires. So it is clear to me that this is malice afore thought.

The worst part of this ordeal was the arrest and transportation to concentration camps of male German Jews. Any signs of sympathy for the Jews from the public caused fury amongst the Nazis.

Also this account was written by David buffman, the American consul in Leipzig so he wasn’t in any fear to say what he wanted.

  So the impression that the essay shows is telling ...

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