Question F
Study all the sources.
"Kristallnacht was a spontaneous event by the German people". How
far do the sources support this claim?
Source A is a summary of Fritz Hesse's account of a dinner with Hitler. Hesse was a journalist for the Nazis. He wrote his account in 1954.
Source A tells us that it was the Nazis and Goebbles who were planning the attacks on the Jews. It then goes on to say that Hesse overheard Goebbles telling Hitler about the mass attacks that he and the SA men were going to carry out against the Jews. The source also tells us that Hitler was delighted about the plans, and that he "slapped his thigh with enthusiasm".
A concern with source A is that Fritz Hesse did not write his account until 1954, which was 16 years after the event. Although it would have been an important event in Hesse's life, it would be highly unlikely that he could have remembered the event as vividly as it is wrote. This can make the information unreliable as Hesse could have forgotten information or wrongly remembered it. Another concern would be that Hesse only heard Goebbles whispering to Hitler. This means that he might not have heard the whole conversation, and could have made his own mind up about what they were talking about. A suspicion about the source is why Hesse would have written his account so long after the events had happened. This could have been to clear his name from the Nazis, because he did not want to be punished for war crimes just because he was a journalist for the Nazis. However, it could have been because he wanted the fame and money, as people would pay to read about these things, and he would see important as he was having dinner with Hitler.
Overall the reliability of this source is questionable, but still useful as it has similarities to other sources. I feel that source A disagrees with the claim "Kristallnacht was a spontaneous event by the German people", as Fritz Hesse tells us that it was the Nazis who carried out the events.
Source B is a secret report prepared by the Nazi Supreme Court. The report was produced after the events of Kristallnacht.
Source B tells us that Goebbles told Hitler that there had been anti-Jewish demonstrations in parts of Munich. This is a similarity to source A, as it also says that it was Goebbles who told Hitler about the attacks. It then tells us that Hitler told Goebbles that such attacks were not to be organised, but if they were to spontaneously happen that they were not to be stopped.
We do not know how reliable the source is, but as it was a secret report, so why would they lie in a document that only specific people were intended to see. However, it was written by the Nazis, (and they didn't want it to look like they had organised kristallnacht) so they might have wrote it inclined towards the innocence of the Nazis to clear their name of organising event. They might also do this as they would know that the secret report would be found at sometime and that people would know about it. The source does not tell us, but implies that the Nazis did not organise Kristallnacht. Nevertheless, if it did spontaneously happen, the Nazis would do nothing about it. A problem with source B is that we do not know exactly when it was produced, but we can get a rough idea of the date as it was written by the Nazis. This means that the latest date that it could have been wrote was 1945, as it was the end of the war and Germany and the Nazis were defeated. Many Nazis were killed after the war for the terrible crimes they committed during their reign. Also, World War II started in 1939, and the Nazis would not have been bothered about an event like kristallnacht when they got a war to concentrate on. This means it was most likely to have been wrote before 1939.
Study all the sources.
"Kristallnacht was a spontaneous event by the German people". How
far do the sources support this claim?
Source A is a summary of Fritz Hesse's account of a dinner with Hitler. Hesse was a journalist for the Nazis. He wrote his account in 1954.
Source A tells us that it was the Nazis and Goebbles who were planning the attacks on the Jews. It then goes on to say that Hesse overheard Goebbles telling Hitler about the mass attacks that he and the SA men were going to carry out against the Jews. The source also tells us that Hitler was delighted about the plans, and that he "slapped his thigh with enthusiasm".
A concern with source A is that Fritz Hesse did not write his account until 1954, which was 16 years after the event. Although it would have been an important event in Hesse's life, it would be highly unlikely that he could have remembered the event as vividly as it is wrote. This can make the information unreliable as Hesse could have forgotten information or wrongly remembered it. Another concern would be that Hesse only heard Goebbles whispering to Hitler. This means that he might not have heard the whole conversation, and could have made his own mind up about what they were talking about. A suspicion about the source is why Hesse would have written his account so long after the events had happened. This could have been to clear his name from the Nazis, because he did not want to be punished for war crimes just because he was a journalist for the Nazis. However, it could have been because he wanted the fame and money, as people would pay to read about these things, and he would see important as he was having dinner with Hitler.
Overall the reliability of this source is questionable, but still useful as it has similarities to other sources. I feel that source A disagrees with the claim "Kristallnacht was a spontaneous event by the German people", as Fritz Hesse tells us that it was the Nazis who carried out the events.
Source B is a secret report prepared by the Nazi Supreme Court. The report was produced after the events of Kristallnacht.
Source B tells us that Goebbles told Hitler that there had been anti-Jewish demonstrations in parts of Munich. This is a similarity to source A, as it also says that it was Goebbles who told Hitler about the attacks. It then tells us that Hitler told Goebbles that such attacks were not to be organised, but if they were to spontaneously happen that they were not to be stopped.
We do not know how reliable the source is, but as it was a secret report, so why would they lie in a document that only specific people were intended to see. However, it was written by the Nazis, (and they didn't want it to look like they had organised kristallnacht) so they might have wrote it inclined towards the innocence of the Nazis to clear their name of organising event. They might also do this as they would know that the secret report would be found at sometime and that people would know about it. The source does not tell us, but implies that the Nazis did not organise Kristallnacht. Nevertheless, if it did spontaneously happen, the Nazis would do nothing about it. A problem with source B is that we do not know exactly when it was produced, but we can get a rough idea of the date as it was written by the Nazis. This means that the latest date that it could have been wrote was 1945, as it was the end of the war and Germany and the Nazis were defeated. Many Nazis were killed after the war for the terrible crimes they committed during their reign. Also, World War II started in 1939, and the Nazis would not have been bothered about an event like kristallnacht when they got a war to concentrate on. This means it was most likely to have been wrote before 1939.
