Talk:Kristallnacht

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[edit] query

Would it be possible to link to other competitors to encourage users to do their own fact-checking and research?

[edit] Really unknown number of Jews killed?

"An unknown number of Jews were killed" ? In several news reports commemorating the event I heard the number of 91. Aleph4 09:58, 10 Nov 2003 (UTC)

According to a subscription database and my interpretation on two seperate sources, one a recent report on an Austrian commemoration of Kristallnacht and the other from the Hutichison encyclopedia, numbers differ depending on whether you include events in Austria and Poland as the same event, but 91 is a safe number to use, but the event's focus is not only that it was a terrorist attack, but also that it was a warning of theroy being put into practice. (Goerge L. Mosse, Towards the Final Solution, ch. 12)

24.177.118.102 05:45, 26 Nov 2004 (UTC)

You can watch this on tv on channel 7 at 9:00 pm March 28 2005. H —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 204.186.103.3 (talk • contribs).

I copied the image from the Polish wikipedia. What a good pic that is!! sorry, probably inappropriate comments for this event that caused so much suffering and damage. Andries 21:28, 20 Mar 2004 (UTC)

Exaggeration of damage? [1] Thoushallhaveafishy 10:44, 24 October 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Did Jews pay reparations for Kristallnacht?

Did the Jewish community have to pay 1 billion Mark to the state for the economic damage that the Kristallnacht had caused? Goering and Hitler said that the Jews were responsible for the Kristallnacht. I read that somewhere. Andries 04:45, 1 Jun 2004 (UTC)

"...they were subjected, collectively, to a fine of one billion marks as punishment, as Goering put it, "for their abominable crimes, etc."". Shimgray 02:46, 29 Dec 2004 (UTC)

[edit] Pogrom?

Is pogrom the proper word since pogrom etymologically postdates the event? Smkatz 01:12, 26 Nov 2004 (UTC)

see pogrom; Russian word in use from at least 1880 67.118.119.175 20:49, 25 Feb 2005 (UTC)

By coincidence, I just watched a documentary on the History channel which covered Kristallnacht. The documentary played contemporary newsreels from English language services, and showed headlines from English language newspapers, and they were at that time using the word "pogrom", so in that sense it it is justified. I agree, though, to my American ear, "pogrom" sounds like russians and cossacks, not Nazis.

[edit] Inconsistency

I just noticed that in the article Racial policy of Nazi Germany it states that, after the Kristallnacht, "Approximately 100 Jews were killed, and another 20,000 sent to the newly formed concentration camps." whereas Kristallnacht says "More than 30,000 Jews were arrested and taken to concentration camps;..." So does anyone know the actual figure of Jews sent to the concentration camps after the Kristallnacht?


  • The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich (chapter 13) quotes a Nov.11 SS report as saying "20,000 Jews were arrested. 36 [Jewish] deaths were reported, and those seriously injured were also numbered at 36." Shirer then notes that the ultimate number of deaths "is believed to have been several times the preliminary figures", but does not cite another number. Shimgray 02:35, 29 Dec 2004 (UTC)


Walter Pehle in "Die Judenpogrom 1938, Klee 1990" says that 30,000 Jews were taken - arrested is surely the wrong word - and sent to the concentration camps. He wrote that it was not possible for him to say how many of them actually survived. Lost in space 18:10, 21 December 2005 (UTC)

[edit] The Name

...The actual name was "Reichskristallnacht". Now it is also called 'Progrom' or "Reichskristallnacht" but if you say the last you sign "" with your fingers, as it was the nazi-propaganda name.

[edit] Reevaluation of vom Rath

I have read that vom Rath has not died on November 7. but two days later, (9. November) in hospital. If this is truth, then sentence On Monday, November 7, Grynszpan shot and killed vom Rath. needs to be corrected.

More important, I’ve read, or heard (alas, I can’t remember where) that Grynszpan’s target wasn’t vom Rath, but some other German official – he missed, and accidentally shot vom Rath.

To make things even more ironic, vom Rath was accused of being a friend of Jews, and he was on the black list of Gestapo. Gestapo actually planed to execute him, but they found his assassination most convenient (another evidence that pogrom was orchestrated). I’m not sure, but I think that he did used to help Jews. -- Obradović Goran (talk 15:36, 22 Mar 2005 (UTC)

To further this line of inquiry into the vom Rath assassination, I watched a documentary on the History channel (I watched a few, I think this one was specifically about Nazi physicians), and it suggested that vom Rath had been listed in stable condition in the Paris hospital, and that he did not die till he was under transport back to Germany. That the people transporting him were top ranked Nazis including Hitler's personal physician, led to the documentary strongly suggesting that his death was actually more convenient for the Nazis, and they left dangling the possiblity that it had been at the Nazis hands. Anybody know if this can be verified?

[edit] please make this section more clear

"The persecution and economic damage done to German Jews did not stop with the pogrom, even as their places of businesses were ransacked. They were also forced to pay a collective fine of 1 billion marks to the Nazi government. This was a bit of irony--as even the New York Times had photographic proof at around the same time that the Nazis were at least partially responsible, although now we know that it was approved by Hitler, and that Hitler was involved in the planning of it. This was arguably a form of collective punishment, later denounced in the Geneva Conventions."

Were at least partially responsible for what? I understand that you it most likely means the kristallnacht, but considering the article for the past paragraphs has no mention whatsoever of them Blaming this event on the Jewish people In fact the rest of the article makes it seem more like it was the Germans fault. Thus it makes everything a bit confusing and there needs to be clarification as to the initial reaction of who was to blame for the event.

Odd, I don't see that language in the article. Can you tell me what section it is in? --Goodoldpolonius2 19:31, 21 December 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Wording

What is meant by the phrase "the common people"? It sounds rather elitist. Does it mean the common Jews, or the common Germans? Who is a common person? Are you? It implies that somebody else, some other group, was better than "the common people". Admittedly this should not be the case, but through usage over decades "common" has become a denigration. Proskauer 10:54, 11 May 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Drastic rewrite

The article was almost entirely rewritten by 139.168.112.176 (talk • contribs) today. Much of the prose, refs and images that editors worked on for months and years is now gone. Now it reads more like an essay than an encyclopedic article. Is it possible to integrate both old and new text without loss of much content? I think so. ←Humus sapiens ну? 07:03, 5 June 2006 (UTC)

I chose to completely rewrite this article to simply increase the volume of information available within the article. I used the Wikipedia article as a source of information, but I found it occasionally contradicted by accounts published by historians, which made it difficult for me to integrate the two. I do not have the time nor the computer skills to integrate my response with the response given, so I chose to replace it almost entirely with the article that I had written, except for parts not covered. I do not believe that any vital information present in the previous article has been lost. You are correct in saying it reads like an essay; that is exactly what it is. My aim was to make a far greater amount of information available than was previously, and I hope that other users will edit my essay to improve readability, cross-linkage and so on.

Yours Sincerely, 139.168.112.176

Thank you for your contributions. I found that it's not bad. I made an attempt at integration and make it into an enclyclopedic article. Please doublecheck and consider joining the project. Yours. ←Humus sapiens ну? 08:54, 5 June 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Terminology section

Does anyone have sources for the terminology section; and would it be okay if I were to move it closer to the end? The terminology aspect is not important compared to the rest and shouldn't lead the article. SlimVirgin (talk) 10:25, 5 September 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Jewish Economic Boycott

I'm surprised this article doesn't mention anything about the Jewish Economic Boycott of 1933. I know that in Germany at the time, this boycott of 'worldwide Jewrey' was cited as a reason for the Kristallnacht. I'm not saying that this was caused because of the boycott, but I think some mention should be made of it in the article. Some people on Wikipedia have accused me of being a white-nationalists so I do not feel comfortable making the edits myself (I'm afraid that people who hold a grudge on me will revert my edits) but I think the information should be included here. I did a quick google search and found this: http://www.wintersonnenwende.com/scriptorium/english/archives/articles/jdecwar.html thanks :) Sup dudes?[[User:Kitler005]] 22:24, 26 October 2006 (UTC)

Perhaps the boycott deserves its own article, but I fail to see a relation to Kristallnacht. And the article you gave is tendentious and outlandish to say the least (I am trying to be polite). The world Jewry declared war on Germany and the Germans merely resisted, yeah right. ←Humus sapiens ну? 22:51, 26 October 2006 (UTC)
I didn't realy look over the article, it was just the first one google returned. I know the claims of the Germans at the time seem silly now, but even if it was only used inside of Germany as an excuse, shouldn't it still be mentioned? I can't find anything on wikipedia about the boycott either :( I can understand how a little thing like that could get over looked, but in most of my history books it is mentioned. Thanks for the fast comment :)Sup dudes?[[User:Kitler005]] 22:58, 26 October 2006 (UTC)
I have found the following links that may prove useful to this subject; http://www.ajhs.org/publications/chapters/chapter.cfm?documentID=230 http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Holocaust/Black.html

Hope this helps :)Sup dudes?[[User:Kitler005]] 23:15, 26 October 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Image of Eberswalde synagogue on fire

Can someone authenticate this: [2]. Thanks. ←Humus sapiens ну? 22:20, 7 November 2006 (UTC)

[edit] For some reason

I see all the crowds out near College Avenue, happy that Rutgers University has pulled off a Battle of Tsushima against Louisville, and see them tearing up newspapers, hurling fireworks, shaking signs, and tp'ing the place, and I suddenly think of Kristallnacht (ok, "November Mischief Night", but the date is a bit TOO eerie a coincidence.) I have a dirty mind, don't I? 204.52.215.107 06:59, 10 November 2006 (UTC)

Let's keep Talk pages for what they are supposed to be used: improve articles. Thanks. ←Humus sapiens ну? 10:23, 10 November 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Civilian participation not clear

Many historians agree in the fact that Germany civil participation was minimal, that the fact that SA and SS agents were dressed like civilians confused all the population, and that is the reason of the confusion whether or not civilian participated in that event.

Please recheck it, cause in the beginning you stated that mainly all the problems were started by SA & SS agents, and later on you talk about massive civilian participation

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