Kristallnacht-Crystal Night
Crystal Night or Night of Broken Glass or November Pogroms was the night when the German Nazis
attacked Jewish persons and their property. The attack continued for a long time with intervals. The
night before, Gestapo chief Heinrich Müller sent a telegram saying: “in shortest order, actions
against Jews and especially their synagogues will take place in all of Germany. These are not to be
interfered with.” The name Night of Broken Glass was not random. The attack was called as such
because in the streets there were literally pieces of broken glasses, after the windows of Jewish-
owned stores, buildings, and synagogues were smashed. Homes, hospitals, and schools were
ransacked, as the attackers demolished buildings with sledgehammers. The pogrom has remained in
history as an act of violence where many people left their homes, lost their families or died.
Sarantaki Evridiki