1938 – Kristallnacht
We chose 1938 as a significant date because it was the year “Kristallnacht” took place.
Kristallnacht, meaning “crystal night” in English and sometimes called “Night of the Broken Glass”, refers to the night of 9-10th November 1938. It was an organised attack by the Nazi government when Nazis, including Hitler Youth, went round smashing the windows of Jewish homes, shops and synagogues. The Nazi government said they did this because of the assassination of Ernst vom Rath, an embassy official based in Paris in France, by a young Jew. This was an excuse to attack Jews in Germany.
The Nazis also rounded up as many Jews as possible and took them to concentration camps. Some were shot, some were whipped all were treated badly and many died. They lost their homes, workplaces and businesses, they had nothing left because it had been stolen, burned or destroyed.
Kristallnacht is an important date in history because it was the start of the escalation of violence against the Jews in Nazi Germany. From then, things got worse and worse for the Jews living in Nazi Germany. Historians think six million Jews were killed in the Nazi holocaust.