On November 10, 1938, almost all Jewish shops in Germany's major cities were smashed and looted. The glass on the looted shop windows shattered to the ground, and the shiny glass slag looked like crystal after being illuminated by the moonlight, which was the infamous "Kristallnacht" event in German history. Chronologically, Kristallnacht was not affiliated with World War II, so why were German Jews treated so unfairly?
A synagogue that was burned down
In fact, kristallnacht was a representative event in Nazi anti-Semitism and the beginning of organized large-scale anti-Semitic atrocities. It seems that the anti-Semitic movement carried out by the German people is behind the Nazi party members and the SS.
Persecution or purge against or against Jews has a long history in Europe and is not uncommon. Since the Middle Ages, the Jews have been a tribulation people that have traveled around the world. Strong and strict religious beliefs and excellent business skills, especially the possession of enviable or enviable social wealth, exacerbated anti-Semitic movements in places such as Europe.
Germany's defeat in world war I, especially the almost devastating punishment it suffered at the Paris Peace Conference, provoked a strong centripetal force of the German nation to strive to free itself from its arbitrary international status. However, the Jews living in Germany not only did not integrate into German society, but took the opportunity to hoard and make a fortune. This provoked strong resentment among the Germans.
Hitler wanted to revive Germany after coming to power in 1933, so it became the only choice for the Nazis to unite the Germans by fighting the Jewish power and then breaking through the Treaty of Versailles. In other words, the suppression of German Jews was something the Nazis had long planned.
In 1938, in order to teach Poland a lesson, the Nazis deported large numbers of Polish Jews to the German-Polish border area. The Polish government at the time was reluctant to accept the German-deported Jews. Germany and Poland were deadlocked, and the refugee Jews were stranded on the border. In an attempt to change his plight, on November 8 a young Jewish man stabbed a German diplomat with a revolver. The killing of German officials soon became an excuse for Nazi Germany to take violent measures against Jews.
On November 8, 1938, the Nazis declared that Jewish newspapers and magazines in Germany would cease publication immediately. On the evening of the 9th, after consulting with propaganda minister Goebbels for a while, Hitler said that "the SA (Hitler Youth) should be allowed to act." After that, Goebbels instigated his subordinates: "It is estimated that there will be spontaneous demonstrations against the Jews tonight, and the Party should not interfere in this regard, so as to make the violence that will take place look like a "spontaneous" folk.
In the early morning of the 10th, Nazi SS, Gestapo and others from all over Germany disguised as civilians took to the streets, brandishing sticks and frantically beating, smashing, robbing, and burning Jewish homes, shops, and churches. According to statistics, about 267 synagogues, more than 7,000 Jewish shops, and 29 department stores were set on fire or damaged. At the same time, 94 synagogues in Austria, which has close ties to Germany, were destroyed. The shattered glass shimmered in the reflection of the moonlight, just like crystal. Therefore, history refers to the persecution of the Jews as "Kristallnacht".
After this conflict, the Jews were not only not wronged, but were regarded as suspects. According to statistics, about 30,000 Jews were arrested, the vast majority of whom were sent to concentration camps. About 2,000-2,500 of them died in concentration camps, and the rest were largely released after being guaranteed to leave Germany.
In addition, on the 12th, under the convocation of The Nazi number two, Goering, Germany formulated measures to deprive Jews of their dignity and rights, such as forcing Jews to clean the burned churches and build parking lots for Germans to use; and forcing Jews to wear insulting marks with the "J" letter. At the same time, Jews were forced to pay 1 billion marks in compensation to the Nazis.
Although many western countries were extremely dissatisfied with Germany because of the "Kristallnacht" incident, and even recalled their ambassadors to Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States and other countries that pursued a policy of appeasement still did not organize the organized persecution and even massacre of Jews by the German Nazis. Since then, the real doom of the Jews in Germany has gradually begun.