In conclusion I feel that source B is he most reliable. Although they are both quite reliable and they both relate to each other, source B has more relevance. The fact that source A was wrote 16 years after Kristallnact happened and source B was wrote straight after Kristallnact. Source B suggests that Hitler had nothing to do with the riots. We can tell this when the report quotes “The Fuhrer, at Goebbels’ suggestion, had decided that such demonstrations were not to be organized by the party”. An the fact that this was a secret report that only went out to supreme Nazi leaders is a major benefactor to the source. So I can now say that source B would be the more reliable source for a historian studying Kristallnact.
- Source C gives me an impression that Hitler and the Nazi’s planned all of Kristallnact. In this source it says that the local crowds must have been horrified by the nazi acts. This makes me believe that the ordinary German civilian did not like what was going on, but they also had much sympathy for the Jews. It also makes Kristallnact sound very violent. Although Kristallnact was a very violent act in itself, this just makes it worse because it says that Hitler did it, it was an act of terrorism. “the violence was carried out by SS men and storm troopers not in uniform, they had been provided with hammers, axes and bombs” this was a quote from David Buffman who was an eyewitness. Now this clearly shows that it wasn’t a spontaneous wave of anger, it was just an act of terrorism by Hitler’s brutal thugs. And even if it was the civilians, ordinary civilians cannot arrest or transport anyone into concentration camps
- Source “C” clearly states that the ordinary German civilian did not like what was going on, “ all of the crowds were obviously horrified by the nazi acts”. Source “C” says that a reliable source says that SS men and storm troopers carried out the violence.
In source “D”, it states the complete opposite to source “C”, it states that the German public put signs up saying that Jews should leave, but when you the look back at source “C”, evidence form the source can clearly say that the German public had nothing to do with the on slaughter of Kristallnact, so I cannot rely on this source for true evidence.
Source “E” states that the German people had nothing to do with the riots, which we know happened anyway. We know this form other studies that the German civilian’s had nothing to do with the actions on Kristillnact. The source states that the police had supplied the SS men with weapons, and we also no that Hitler had something to do with this as he controlled the police.
So form this I can clearly see that source C is more accurate.
D) Source F & G are very similar because they both deliver an anti-nazi message. Source F shows a nazi killing a Jew, with Tsar Nicholas in the sky, saying “attacking the Jews did not do me any good my fascist friend.” We know that this is true as Tsar II killed many Jews and was then murdered by Communists in 1918. This relates to Source G which shows a Nazi beating a Jew, they both make me believe that the people did not like what the Germans were doing to the Jews. But they are different because they deliver different kinds of messages. Source F is for the Russian people who were also not down with the Germans doing what they were doing to the Jews, but it shows no public view. While source G shows the view of the German people, it shows a woman tied up looking over at the German Nazi beating the Jew. There is a shield and a sword on the floor by the woman, this could represent that the German civilians did not like what was going on and they could do nothing about it, however much they wanted to. It is saying that the German people had not freedom of speech. It can also prove that it was nothing to do with the public. In Source B it quotes that there had been anti-jewish demonstrations that the Fuher had nothing to do with. They are blaming it on the German civilians to cover up what was probably going on and this source (G) shows us that the German people had nothing to do with the rioting because they did not like it and they had no right of speech. Also, this cartoon is from the view of the British magazine.