C) Source D and E give very different accounts of the events that took place in Kristallnacht, source D states that the uproar targeting Jews was built up over a period of weeks and that notices saying “Jews not wanted” appeared on shop windows meaning that the German people caused this uproar, this contradicts the evidence collected in source C, which, according to his source, the attacks were carried out by trained SS men and Storm-troopers, “the violence was carried out by SS men and Storm troopers out of uniform” going against the statements in source D. The account in source D would make a reader feel that source C was less accurate, as the account was written by a Jew who was present during the weeks before and after Kristallnacht and reader would take his account to be true and he wouldn’t lie about the disasters that were happening to him. The account was also written at the time of the events so the writer’s memory would still be fresh of the information at the time.
The account in source E corresponds with that information of source C it also says that the police supplied SA men with the equipment they needed to cause the rioting and burning, it makes clear that most German people had nothing to do with the carnage, “most German people have nothing to do with these riots and burnings” which goes with what David Buffman was saying that the German people wore horrified by the attacks. This source gives the impression that source C is more accurate but as it was in note form sent anonymously one could not regulate whether it is from a reliable source or not.
In conclusion, source D goes against the information provided in source C as it says the German people were involved rather then looking “obviously horrified” and source D’s account can be taken as reliable as it was written at the time from an onlooker though some may feel that the description is to vague and looks at the German public as a whole as this may not be the opinion of all the public just at the things he may of notice, as well as the fact he was a Jew may make a reader feel he was exaggerating on the events. Source E backs up David Buffman’s account on Kristallnacht saying the SA/SS men were involved in the attacks and the letter was written just after the attacks of Kristallnacht making it more reliable, thought the fact it remains anonymous may make someone doubt the integrity of the letter.
How similar are the messages of these two cartoons?
D) The two cartoons presented show the events of Kristallnacht, they wore published by two different countries, Russia and Britain. The idea is to obtain the similarities of the messages of the cartoons.
The first cartoon, drawn by a Russian artist, shows a Nazi soldier is looking up to a gap in the clouds, where he comes across Tsar Nicholas II, who was killed by communist for supporting attacks against Jews. The Nazi soldier is standing upon dead bodies (Jewish bodies) and wreckage, whilst holding blood-stained weapons. The Tsar is saying to the Nazi that “attacking the Jews did me no good my fascist Friend”, meaning that the Nazis hatred for Jews will come back to haunt them, as the Tsars hatred for Jews came back to haunt him, because he was murdered. The Nazi also has a string of watches hanging from his belt which signifies that the Nazis time is running out. In the cartoon the tsar is dead. This means he had no power to stop the Nazi from doing anything. This shows that the Nazis had become exempt from rules and no-one was trying to stop them. As this is communist Propaganda it would be biased, because the communists murdered the Tsar and he hated Jews, likewise, Nazis also hated Jews which relates the two groups, Also the tsar refers to the Nazi as a friend meaning that they knew each other and as friends are normally similar to each other so was Tsar and the Nazi.
The British cartoon shows a Nazi with a baton with his hand raised for a salute; this associates the Nazis with death in both drawings, and shows the Nazis to be proud of murdering these people. There is a woman who is tied and gagged; on the floor to her is a sword, shield and a winged helmet. The woman represents the German people as captives to Nazi’s and their beliefs. The gag on the mouth means that if the German people had could conduct freedom of speech they would be against Kristallnacht and the Nazis. The helmet on the floor is the Roman God of messenger’s helmet. This shows that the woman knows that the Nazis were to blame for Kristallnacht and she has to tell the superpowers like Britain and France to come and help. The woman is unable to deliver this message however because she is tied up. This shows the German people would tell the truth if they were not afraid of what the Nazi would do to them. The sword and shield in the picture represent the German people and the fact that they would fight against the Nazis and defend the Jews, if they were not too scared to speak out.
The two cartoons have a variety of similarities and the most obvious similarity is that they both show the Nazis in an abhorrent way meaning that both countries thought the Nazis were to blame for Kristallnacht. As well as both Nazi figures are seen standing over dead Jewish bodies looking up to the sky, this associates the Nazis with death in both drawings, and shows the Nazis were proud of murdering these people. Both cartoons show that the Nazis were to blame for Kristallnacht. They both depict the Nazis as murderers who killed many Jews. Also both cartoonists believe that many people know the Nazis committed these acts, yet they are not prepared to stop the Nazis.
In conclusion both cartoons share the same meaning and are trying to put across the Nazi’s evil relentless ways. They both show the Nazi’s anti-Semitic ways and the fact that even their own people (the Tsar and German people) disagree with what they are doing and would speak out if they could.
How far does source I prove that Goering was telling the truth in source H?
E) The Two sources show Hitler’s responses to Kristallnacht, one from Goering; who was in charge of Nazi rearmament policies, and the other from Frau Troost; the husband of one of Hitler’s favourite architects. I am trying to discover whether Goering’s statement was true or not, and if Hitler and Frau Troost’s conversation backs it up.
In Goering’s statement, Goering said that Goebbels was to blame for Kristallnacht “it was not acceptable to me that he (Goebbels) should upset my difficult economic task by destroying so much Jewish property…” which puts the blame entirely on Goebbels for the destruction, and that Kristallnacht destroyed many Jewish properties and housing, causing economical disturbance. At the time of Kristallnacht, Goering was promoting a recycling campaign in efforts to prepare for the war. He claimed that the events of Kristallnacht ruined his plan for recycling and helping the war effort. He also stated that Hitler apologised for what Goebbels had caused, “Hitler made some apologies for Goebbels”, and thought that such events wore never be allowed to take place again. As Goering used this account in his trial, I would not think this source to be very reliable; as I would thing Goering would have changed the statement to put him in the clear. There was no real evidence to back Goering claims and as Hitler was dead there was no one to verify his accounts, meaning that he was likely to make it up.
Source I is a conversion that Frau Troost reported in an interview with a historian in 1971, the conversion includes Hitler, He condemning the perpetrators of Kristallnacht saying “they destroyed everything for me.” He also claimed that it ruined peace with France. This source makes it seem like Hitler had little to do with Kristallnacht and also backs up Goering’s statement. However Goering’s statement only matches Frau Troost’s about Hitler condemning Kristallnacht. It doesn’t support any view that Goering’s had on Kristallnacht though, as it doesn’t mention him at all. Hitler said that it ruined his negations, whereas Goering said it ruined his four-year plan. In source H Goering said that Hitler was sorry for what Goebbels had done concerning Kristallnacht, but in source I Hitler says “the people responsible,” as if he didn’t know who carried out the acts.
I think that source I is more reliable than source H. As Goering would be put to the sword if he was found guilty for war acts, so he would have said what he needed to make the judge think he is not-guilty. Frau Troost’s statement was said to a historian many years after the war, this means she would be less likely to be lying as she had no reason to lie to help Hitler, as he was dead by this time, however as the conversion was only recorded 30 years ago, some snippets of the conversation could have been forgotten.
In conclusion, I think that ‘source I’ only backs up ‘source H’ by saying that Hitler condemned Kristallnacht. Nothing in source I say’s anything about Goering or the four-year economic plan. Therefore I think that there was no proof that Goering was telling the truth but more logically that he had thought it up so they would spare his life.
‘Kristallnacht was a spontaneous event by the German people.’ How far do these sources support this claim?
F) ‘Kristallnacht was a spontaneous event by the German people’ upon examining this statement my first reaction would be to say this is untrue, I think Kristallnacht was planned and carried out by the Nazi’s. However, to show an unbiased view I am going to examine all of the sources, to get an idea whether the above statement if true or not. I will divide this question into two parts, I am going to write about all the sources that support this quote and then all the sources that appose the quote.
Source B shows that it was the German people which sparked off the rioting. It says that although the Nazi’s didn’t support that riot, they wouldn’t have been “discouraged if they started spontaneously” meaning no effort would be taken to stop them from happening. This source is quite reliable as it was only meant to be seen by Nazi politicians. The source overall shows that the Nazi's thought it was random rioting.
Source D shows that there was unrest towards Jews, even a few weeks before Kristallnacht took place and that they were not welcome in shops or cinemas, “notices reading ‘Jews not wanted’ appeared in various shops…”, this shows that, even before Kristallnacht, Jews wore still being tormented, and that in the country violent acts had been committed, it was so bad in some places that Jews had to sell up and leave. The fact that the source was written by a Jew means it is most likely truth but might be slightly biased in the Jews favour. The source tells us that there was already a lot of unrest towards Jews in Germany, so a riot could easily have taken place.
Source I shows that Hitler was against Kristallnacht it is a conversation between Hitler and Frau Troost. He says “the people responsible have ruined everything for me”, this shows that Hitler felt there was no single person responsible for the acts as he uses the terminology of “people” means that it could have been Nazi’s or German people thus not being a very good source to refer to when deciding if Kristallnacht was a planned assault on the Jewish people. The source shows that Hitler had nothing to do with the events as he is complaining about the people who did it.
Source H has proof that the Nazi’s was involved in the act of Kristallnacht “it was not acceptable to me that he should upset my difficult economic task by destroying so much Jewish property…” when referring to Goebbels; it is an account between Goering and Hitler. It says that “Hitler made some apologies for Goebbels” meaning that Hitler knew that the Nazi’s caused Kristallnacht and was apologising for his actions.
Source I and Source H showed Hitler had no support for Kristallnacht though source A tells us something completely different. In this source Hitler and Goebbels are overheard muttering plans about Kristallnacht. Hitler seemed to quite enjoy the idea that Goebbels put forward to him and is seen to of “slapped his thigh with enthusiasm and squeal with delight.” This shows that Kristallnacht would have been set up by the Nazi's and that Hitler agreed to it and was happy with the idea brought forward to him.
In source C an American describes Kristallnacht. He says “the violence was carried out by S.S men and storm troopers not in uniform”, this points the blame at the Nazi's as they carried out the flats. This is a reliable source because the writer saw it for himself, and asked lots of different people what they saw.
Source E is an anonymous note given to the British consul in Cologne on 12 of November 1938. It says that most German people had nothing to do with the riots and that it was all done by S.A men. It states that “the police supplied SA men with weapons such as, axes, housebreaking tools and ladders”, as well as a list of all the addresses of Jewish shops and flats, this shows that normal German people had nothing to do with Kristallnacht, and it was all done by Nazi’s.
Source A definitely backs up my thoughts as it shows Hitler and Goebbels discussing the attacks, and that Hitler was very enthusiastic about the plan. Also, source C and E both say that the secret police carried out Kristallnacht, and as source C is an eyewitness account it is more then likely to be true.
In conclusion, I feel that it was in fact the Nazi SA who carried out these riots and attacks on the Jewish people and that someone, most likely Goebbels, ordered the attacks in order to get back into Hitler’s support. I therefore think that the riots were not the German people, but they were specially planned riots set up by the Nazi's designed to spur on hatred towards Jews.
