Learn about the story of Kristallnacht, the "Night of Broken Glass," tracing how years of escalating Nazi persecution erupted into nationwide violence and marked a turning point on the path to the Holocaust.
Essential Questions
- How did years of escalating Nazi policy make Kristallnacht possible?
- How did Kristallnacht mark a turning point in Nazi persecution of European Jews, moving from legal discrimination to open, state-directed violence?
- What does Kristallnacht reveal about the roles of bystanders, perpetrators, and the responsibilities ordinary people bear when their government targets a minority group?
Big Ideas
- Escalation of Persecution: Kristallnacht illustrates state-sponsored antisemitism escalated gradually, from boycotts and legal exclusion to open violence and mass arrest, each step normalized by the lack of meaningful resistance.
- Bystanders and Complicity: Their silence, and and in some cases participation, of ordinary Germans who witnessed Kristallnacht raises essential questions about individual responsibility and the dangers of indifference
- The Law as a Weapon: Kristallnacht demonstrates how the law can become a tool of persecution rather than protection, impacting the safety of German and European Jewish citizens.