Educational materials to commemorate 67 years since Kristallnach

Hanna Rand wrote the following about the 10 th of November, 1938:
“I remember Kristallnacht. I wanted to go to school and my father told me ‘Don’t go. Something is going on.’ He heard it from our non Jewish neighbors. But I really wanted to go. I went, and as I got closer to school, I saw that there was no way to enter. They were burning the Torah scrolls. Because the school was near the Synagogue, our teachers organized some of the boys to walk us home. They brought us home and we didn’t leave the house for a week.”
Yad Vashem archives, 0.3-6490

On the night of November 9-10, there were terrible outbreaks of violence towards the Jews that swept through Germany. That night became known as “Kristallnacht”.Even though this night was carefully planned, the violence was described by the Nazi party as spontaneous.

That night, 90 Jews were killed, 30,000 were arrested and sent to concentration camps, Jewish homes were attacked and many Jews were physically hurt, Synagogues were burnt and destroyed, the glass on the outside of Jewish shops was smashed and their stores were looted. On November 10, these events repeated themselves- in Austria. As a result of this violent night, the Jews were forced to pay a very high fine.
“Kristallnacht” is considered a turning point in the relationship between the Nazis and German Jewry.

Through this site, with the help of the database, you will be able to expand your knowledge on Kristallnacht.

For the lexicon entry, click here.

For the Resource Center, click here.