STATE SPONSORED PHYSICAL VIOLENCE
The Boerneplatz synagogue in flames during Kristallnacht.
Nazi attacks on Jews did not stop with legislation however. In early November, 1938, Nazi party members all over Germany, Austria, and other German occuppied territoris attacked Jewish businesses, homes, and synagouges. Thousands of Jews were arrested and imprisoned and hundreds died as a result of the actions of the Nazis during Kristallnacht. Kristallnacht, or the Night of Broken Glass, marked the first instance of state sponsored physical violence against Jews in the Third Reich. Due to the relative inaction of German citizens, the Nazi party realized that they could take increased measures to create a "Jew Free" Germany. For more information on Kristallnacht click here, here, and here.