Kristallnacht Essay

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In January of 1933, Adolf Hitler was sworn in as chancellor of Germany. At the time Hitler assumed power, the German government was suffering due to the Great Depression caused by World War 1. Hitler, a man who had spent the entirety of his political career denouncing and attempting to destroy the German Republic, was now the leader of said Republic. Hitler was widely supported by his Nazi party. Hitler was very vocal in letting his displeasures be known and his people believed his repeated promises to get rid of the Treaty of Versailles and enlarge the army. All of his promises were made in order to bring back Germany's former glory. However, almost immediately upon becoming the Chancellor of Germany, Hitler began taking legal actions against Germany's Jewish population. One of Hitler's many actions taken against the Jews was Kristallnacht, also known as the night of broken glass. On November 9, 1938 Hitler launched an enormous coordinated attack on Jews throughout the German Reich. During the first half of 1938, Hitler passed several laws restricting the Jewish economy. On October 28th of that very same year approximately 17,000 German Jews were arrested and relocated past the borders of Poland into "relocation camps". Among these 17,000 Jews was the family Grynszpan. Herschel, Zander Grynszpan's seventeen-year-old son, received news of his family's expulsion from their home and took matters into his own hands. Herschel went to the German embassy in Paris on November 7, 1938 with plans to assassinate the German Ambassador of France. However, Herschel was unable to assassinate the German ambassador. Instead he killed the Third Secretary Ernst vom Rath. Joseph Goebbels, Germany's chief of propaganda, decided to use Herschel's att... ... middle of paper ... ...ies. Certain districts even went as far as setting a curfew for Jewish people. Hitler hinted that all the renewed persecution would lead up to the "final solution". In January 1939, Hitler informed the Reichstag that if war broke out the war would lead to the annihilation of all the Jews in Europe. The reaction outside Germany to Kristallnacht was shock and outrage. Negative publicity in newspapers and on the radio began trying to isolate Hitler's Germany from other civilized nations. These efforts were made to try and weaken any pro-Nazi sentiments in the non-Nazi countries. The United States recalled their ambassador permanently shortly after Kristallnacht. At this point in history Göring stated, "I would like to say that I would not like to be a Jew in Germany" (The History Place). Göring's statement became more justified as the post-Kristallnacht era continued.

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