10/08/2026
Kristallnacht, or “The Night of Broken Glass,” refers to a wave of anti-Jewish violence that took place on the night of November 9, 1938, and the following day. Led by N**i Storm Troopers and the Hi**er Youth, mobs across Germany, Austria, and parts of Czechoslovakia attacked Jews in their homes and on the streets, looted Jewish homes and businesses, and burned down synagogues. Thousands of Jews were arrested, and 30,000 Jewish men were deported to concentration camps. 7,000 Jewish homes and businesses were damaged, and 1,400 synagogues were burned.
Before Kristallnacht, Jews had been subjected to discrimination, social isolation, and an increasing loss of civil rights. Thousands of anti-Jewish discriminatory decrees were passed between 1933 and 1938, but Kristallnacht was the first time that the German state directly supported and perpetuated violence against Jewish individuals.
Kristallnacht marked a turning point for Jews in Germany. During Kristallnacht, many German civilians passively allowed the violence against their Jewish friends and neighbors to be carried out, showing the German state that the public was prepared for further state-sanctioned violence against the Jews. In the following years, the German state continued to expand their violence against European Jews, leading to mass deportations to concentration camps and eventually the murder of six million European Jews.
