Kristallnacht

Introduction

Imagine waking up in the middle of the night to breaking glass, screaming neighbors, shouting guards, crying children, and inexplicable violence. If you had been a German Jew during World War II, you would have lived through such a night.

Today you will be exploring one of the most well known events of the Holocaust, which devastated Jews throughout Germany. You will visit numerous websites to read about this topic, filling in the information as you go.

Task

Once you have familiarized yourself with this terrible event by visiting each site and filling in your information sheet, you will write a creative response:

Write a story describing this night and its aftermath from the perspective of a Jew. How do you react? What do you do during the destruction? What happens to you after it is over? How are you treated by the people who were once your neighbors and friends? Be as creative and detailed as possible, filling at least the front of one page and using proper grammar and spelling.

Process

Holocaust Memorial Museum

http://www.ushmm.org/outreach/en/article.php?ModuleId=10007697

1. Kristallnacht means “________________________________________________.”

2. It occurred during the night of __________________________.

3. Over __________ synagogues were burned, and over ______________ Jewish businesses were trashed and looted. ______________ of Jewish people were killed, and Jewish ______________, _______________, _________________, and __________ were looted while police and fire brigades stood by.

4. The morning after the pogroms ______________ German Jewish men were arrested for the "crime" of __________________________ and sent to concentration camps.

History Channel

http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/the-night-of-broken-glass

5. The cost of broken glass in Jewish shops was $5 million marks ($__________________).

6. A ______ year old German Jew refugee named ______________________ shot and killed the third secretary of the German embassy.

7. As revenge for the shooting, “_____________________________” were ordered as protest against the Jews of Munich.

8. Those Jews who survived the monstrous night were forced to _______________ ______________________ inflicted upon them.

History Place

http://www.historyplace.com/worldwar2/timeline/knacht.htm

9. New decrees were passed barring Jews from any contact with Germans by excluding them from __________________________, ________________, even _____________, essentially forcing them into _____________ or out of the country.

10. Jews were entirely eliminated from ________________ life in the Reich by transferring all Jewish ________________ and ________________ to 'Aryans.”

Read the orders given to the Nazis here: http://www.historyplace.com/worldwar2/timeline/knacht1a.htm

Examine the five pictures found here: https://miepvonsydow.wordpress.com/tag/night-of-broken-glass/

Evaluation

Grading Rubric

Participation: _____/10

Creativity: _____/10

Detail/Accuracy: _____/10

Length: _____/10

Grammar/Spelling: _____/10

Total: _____/50

Conclusion

How did this activity make you feel? Do you now have a deeper understanding of how the Jews suffered under the Nazi regime? Has imagining yourself living through just one of the terrible situations the Jews went through made you more horrified or sympathetic? How has this activity changed your perspective on the Holocaust as a whole?