Kristallnacht, German for “crystal night” or “night of broken glass.” So named for the events of November 9 and 10, 1938 when shattered glass from Jewish businesses, homes and places of worship littered the streets.

Jewish properties were destroyed under orders from the Nazi party. German police were ordered to arrest the victims. Many people were killed or put in concentration camps.

“In two days and nights, more than 1,000 synagogues were burned or otherwise damaged. Rioters ransacked and looted about 7,500 Jewish businesses, killed at least 91 Jews, and vandalized Jewish hospitals, homes, schools, and cemeteries. The attackers were often neighbours. Some 30,000 Jewish males aged 16 to 60 were arrested. To accommodate so many new prisoners, the concentration camps at Dachau, Buchenwald, and Sachsenhausen were expanded.”*

*Berenbaum, Michael. “Kristallnacht”. Encyclopedia Britannica, 2 Nov. 2021, https://www.britannica.com/event/Kristallnacht. Accessed 27 October 2022.