What is Kristallnacht?

On November 9, 1938, a two-day pogrom began during which the Nazis burned more than 1,400 synagogues and Jewish institutions in Germany and Austria on ‘Kristallnacht’ (The Night of Broken Glass), a critical moment in the chain of events that led to the Holocaust.

During the pogrom, 30,000 Jewish males were rounded up and taken to concentration camps. This was the first time Nazi officials made massive arrests of Jews specifically because they were Jews.

In the aftermath of Kristallnacht, the Nazi regime ordered the Jewish community to pay a 1 billion Reichsmark “atonement tax” and rapidly enacted many anti-Jewish laws and edicts.

Nazi officials disguised the organised nature of the pogroms. They described the actions as spontaneous responses of the German people to the assassination of a German diplomatic official, Ernst vom Rath, in Paris.

 How can I make a difference?

1) Keep the light on in your House of Worship, institution
and private home on November 9th.

Together we will unite the world against
antisemitism, racism, intolerance, and hatred
by shining light over the darkness of hate.

2) Add your voice to the campaign. Write a personal message of hope in your own words at the campaign website: kristallnacht.motl.org