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Adolf Hitler takes office
On January 30, 1933, Hitler became chancellor. Reaching this position legally legitimized the Nazi party further as German people began to give up on more moderate parties. -
Ernst vom Rath Dies
German embassy official Ernst vom Rath dies days after being shot by Herschel Grynszpan, a 17-year-old Polish Jew. Propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels used this occasion to mask violent staged attacks as “spontaneous demonstrations.” by German citizens. -
Gestapo and Security Police leaders send orders regarding the riots
Heinrich Müller, chief of the Gestapo, sends a telegram to all police units stating “in shortest order, actions against Jews and especially their synagogues will take place in all of Germany. These are not to be interfered with.”. As synagogues burned fire brigades watched and only stepped in when "Aryan" homes were at risk, while police arrested the victims. -
Nationwide Progroms
Rioters destroyed hundreds of synagogues and Jewish businesses throughout Germany, Austria, and the Sudetenland. More than 7,000 Jewish businesses were destroyed, some 1,000 synagogues fell victim to arson, and 91 people died. -
Young & healthy Jewish men are targeted for arrest
Reinhard Heydrich had made specific orders that rioters were to not harm non-Jewish German people or damage their property, but police officials were ordered to arrest as many Jews as possible. An estimated 30,000 Jewish men aged 16 to 60 were arrested. The surge in prisoners caused the concentration camps in Dachau, Buchenwald, and Sachsenhausen to need expansions. -
Financial compensation is confiscated and fines are imposed
Millions of Reichsmarks in damage were done during the night, early morning, and day of the 9th and 10th. However, any compensation the Jewish victims received from insurance was confiscated by the Reich and they were forced to clean up the remaining pieces of their communities on their own. In addition, the Nazi government placed a fine of one billion Reichsmarks (around $400 million in 1938) on the Jewish community. -
The Decree on the Exclusion of Jews from German Economic Life
This decree closed all Jewish-owned businesses and more similar legislation followed. In the weeks following Kristallnacht, The Reich Ministry of Education removed all Jewish children from public schools and The Reich Ministry of the Interior restricted the freedom of movement of Jewish people. These along with several other acts led to more persecution and mistreatment of Jewish people. -
The Last Concentration Camp is Liberated
Stutthof concentration camp was liberated by the Allies in 1945, 12 years after the opening of Germany's first. An esitimated 63,000-65,000 people, including 28,000 Jews, were killed in Stutthof until its liberation by the Red Army. During World War II there were around 44,000 camps and other incarceration sites used by the Nazis. From a present day perspective, it may be difficult to understand how it came to such a point. This is why one must consider how the average citizen felt at the time.