UDLib/SEARCH
A state-funded collaboration between the Delaware Department of Education and the University of Delaware Library providing online magazines, journals, encyclopedias and training for all Delaware K-12 public schools
A state-funded collaboration between the Delaware Department of Education and the University of Delaware Library providing online magazines, journals, encyclopedias and training for all Delaware K-12 public schools
Delaware public school students should contact their classroom teacher or school librarian to obtain the UDLib/SEARCH username and password to access the UDLib/SEARCH resources in this guide.
Excerpt from The Night of Broken Glass - U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum
“On the night of November 9–10, 1938, the Nazi regime coordinated a wave of antisemitic violence in Nazi Germany. This nationwide riot became known as Kristallnacht or the ‘Night of Broken Glass.’ The name ‘Kristallnacht’ is a reference to the shattered glass from store windows that littered the streets during and after the riot.”
The violence was supposed to look like an unplanned outburst of popular anger against Jews as retaliation for the assassination of Ernst Eduard vom Rath, a Nazi Party member and German Foreign Office diplomat.
“In reality, Kristallnacht was state-sponsored vandalism and arson. Nazi leaders actively coordinated it with Adolf Hitler's support…. During the riot, local Nazis set hundreds of synagogues on fire. They vandalized thousands of Jewish-owned businesses. They desecrated Jewish cemeteries. They broke into homes, smashed furniture, and terrorized Jewish families."
The Significance of Kristallnacht: A Wake-up Call to Jews
The violence of Kristallnacht served notice to Jews worldwide that Nazi anti-Semitism was not a temporary predicament and would only intensify. As a result, many Jews began to plan an escape from their native land.
Kristallnacht marked a turning point toward more violent and repressive treatment of Jews by the Nazis. By the end of 1938, Jews were prohibited from schools and most public places in Germany—and conditions only worsened from there.
Excerpt from Kristallnacht - History.com
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