Kristallnacht: An Orchestration by the German Government

Kristallnacht: An Orchestration by the German Government How far do these sources back up the view that Kristallnacht was a

spontaneous act by the German people?

Kristallnacht, a massive nationwide pogrom in Germany and Austria,

took place on 9/10th November. The target was Jewish citizens and it

foreshadowed the events of the holocaust. Jewish properties were

destroyed and more than 30,000 Jews were arrested. Was this a

spontaneous (unplanned and unstructured) act by the German people or

was it orchestrated by the Nazi government? Several sources are

available to help answer this question; however, one must take into

account the origin of the source, as people’s views can be influenced

by their positions.

Sources A, C and D originate from the Nazi party. The Nazis would

want to portray Kristallnacht as a spontaneous act by the people

rather than an organised move by the government. Josef Goebbels wrote

sources C and D. One is from the Nazi newsletter and the other is

from Goebbel’s private diary. These give us an insight into how much

responsibility the Nazis took publicly and privately for

Kristallnacht. The newsletter clearly states that it was not

organised but broke out spontaneously.