Kristallnackt

Elizabeth Nichols
HSTS 4230: The Holocaust
Dr. DeHart
September 4, 2012

Kristallnacht

Traditional views of the events of November 9th and 10th 1938, Kristallnacht, argue that it was a departure from the bureaucratic strategy to marginalize the Jewish people in Germany, and that that the perpetrators were mainly Storm troopers and German Nazi Party organizers. The traditional view also maintains that few ordinary Germans joined in and most disapproved of the actions taking place. New insights suggest that Kristallnacht was the culmination of the phobia against Jews which existed prior to November 9th and 10th in Germany. Kristallnacht was not only prosecuted by the German governmental authorities, but it was also perpetrated and supported by the ordinary German population in both large towns and small villages. Adolf Hitler authorized the attacks of November 9th and Joseph Goebbels authorized the police not to intervene, and it was their hope that the population would take part in the attacks. Court records show that the attacks were manipulated from above, but that it was executed from below by local anti-Jewish groups. The instructions to local leaders were not clear; therefore, it was left up to the local leaders on how to carry out the attacks. Ordinary citizens were not as passive as suggested and there are eyewitness accounts that they provided psychological support through chanting, heckling, laughter, and applause for the actions of the perpetrators of the attacks on Jewish businesses, houses of worship, and people. Many of the people that watched what was going on either joined the attackers and began to participate or began looting Jewish businesses and homes. It is said that “a frightening viciousness and glee” accompanied the beatings given to Jews. There are eyewitness accounts of Jews being dragged out of their homes, paraded in the streets in their pajamas, and synagogues being set on fire and looted. There are also accounts of orphanages being cleared of children and destroyed, and also old age homes invaded and closed down. Many of the people that perpetrated the attacks on Jews knew their victims and in part some of the attacks may have been motivated by greed or wanting to get even for a perceived wrong done by the victim of the attack. The number of ordinary German citizens that were sympathetic to the pogrom against the Jewish community on November 9th an 10th was underestimated. Many people believed that the Jews had attained their wealth at the expense of the Germans, and that they were only taking back property that rightfully belonged to them. Much of what is known about what actually occurred on Kristallnacht came out in trials after the war, and from eyewitness accounts. Kristallnacht cases were prosecuted but many people were given light sentences, if any. The small Jewish community that remained in Germany registered their complaints about the injustice in sentencing, and to them it was obvious that the Germans were not taking responsibility for their actions. After the war it seemed that the Germans wanted to forget or at least act like that they did not know what happened. Since the reunification of Germany they have begun to confront their Nazi past, and more research has been done on Kristallnacht and the role of the ordinary German. German historians have begun to challenge the idea that the pogrom was conducted by a small number of the populace and that most disapproved.