Kristallnacht

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Why did Hitler hate Jews?

Kristallnacht
From the start, we have always learnt that Hitler loved some types of
people (Aryans, anyone who supported him) and hated other types
of people (black people, physically and mentally disabled, pacifists,
homosexuals and the list continues). However, he had the worst
hatred for jews in particular, and his actions would affect many lives
across Europe. No one know why Hitler despised the jews so much
but one of the biggest theories is Antisemitism. As he mention in his
book, Mein Kampf, he described his development into an antisemite
as the result of a long, personal struggle. Adolf Hitler’s actions
towards the Jew will never be forgotten; one of his most famous
attack is Kristallnacht.

What is Kristallnacht?
Kristallnacht, also known as the Night of Broken Glass or Crystal Night, is a
pogrom against Jews carried out by the Nazi Party across Germany, Austria
and the Sudetenland a region of Czechoslovakia which took place on the 9th
and 10th November 1938. Jewish homes, hospitals, and schools were
destroyed as the invaders wrecked buildings with sledgehammers. Over
267 synagogues and over 7,000 businesses owned by the Jews were
demolished. 30,000 Jewish men were arrested and were sent to
concentration camps, one like Sachsenhausen. It was reported that 91
Jews were murdered but in a modern analysis the statistics elevated
because of the post-arrest maltreatment and the suicides included. This
death toll reached the hundreds, with it being estimated 638 deaths by
suicide. Nazi officials argued that the Jews themselves were to hold
responsible for the riots which were created by the Nazi and a fine of one
billion reichsmarks was imposed on the German Jewish community.
Why did the Kristallnacht happen?
On the morning of 7th November 1938, Herschel Grynszpan, a polish jew
purchased a revolver and a box of the bullets and went to the German
embassy and asked to see an official. He was taken to the office of Nazi
diplomat; Ernst vom Rath shooting him 5 times two of which hit him in the
abdomen. Grynszpan did not escape and was arrested and was put into a
French prison. Unfortunately, Rath died of his wounds on 9th November
1938. When the news arrived to Hitler that evening, he was with several key
members of the Nazi party at a dinner commemorating the fifteenth
anniversary of the 1923 Munich Putsch, he let abruptly and the propaganda
minister Joseph Goebbels gave a speech. His speech was clear and prises,
Goebbels had commanded the party leaders to organise a pogrom, the
Kristallnacht.

Why is Kristallnacht called Kristallnacht?


The name came to the horrible event, referring to the
thousands of shattered windows that littered the streets
in the aftermath of the riots. However it does not convey
the full brutality of the event. Kristallnacht was a turning
point in the history from antisemitic speech to the
violent, aggressive anti-Jewish measures that would
conclude with the Holocaust, ending many lives.

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