Describe the reasons for Kristallnacht 1938

On the 9th November, Third Secretary Ernst Vom Rath died of his wounds after being attacked by Herschel Grynszpan who was the son of Zindel Grynszpan, one of the Polish Jews that faced expulsion and was dislocated to a border area in Poland. When Hindel heard of the news, his rage sent him to assassinate the General Ambassador. However, the plan failed and he attacked Ernst Vom Rath instead. The cunning Ministry of Propaganda which was then led by Joseph Goebbels took advantage of the situation and immediately launched a pogrom against Jews. The assassination of Ernst Vom Rath was portrayed as a conspiracy by the “International Jewry” and posed as a threat to the welfare of the German people. As Germans were looking for an excuse to get rid of Jews, the assassination was the perfect excuse to trigger the uprising against Jews. This justified the Kristallnacht which literally means Crystal Night.  

 It was the first time Nazi security deliberately targeted Jews for death. It was carried out by none other than the Storm troopers and the German civilians. Buildings were demolished and over 7000 Jewish owned businesses and homes were destroyed. They were vandalized, looted and were set on fire while the police and fire services turned a blind eye. Over 1000 synagogues were destroyed causing the injury and deaths of Jewish people throughout Germany. After the night, the streets were covered with broken glass that serves as an evidence for the orgy of violence that had occurred the previous night.

The assassination served as a pretext for the launching of anti-Semitic excesses. The uneven balance of anti-Semitism and legislation has finally been tipped over and a catastrophe erupted in Nazi Germany. As anti-Semitism escalated in Germany, mass numbers of Jews were subjected to physical violence and forced to be deported to concentration camps simply because they were who they are – Jews. The Nazi Propaganda such as “The Jews Are Our Misfortune” and “Stab in the Back” proved to be effective to encourage German citizens to join in the destruction and violence of Kristallnacht, making them feel that they were doing the right thing.

It is likely that this was going to happen eventually as the Germans have been finding a way to get rid of Jews.  It was one of the most essential turning points in National Socialist anti-Semitic policy. Jews were removed entirely and the master race was bred. As a result of Kristallnacht, Nazis became more radical and extreme. Hitler grew to be even more confident and mad as the communists were eliminated from political election, allowing the Nazis to be more in power. The economy of Germany hurt as many Jewish businesses were stopped abruptly.