Understanding the Kristallnacht: Tragic History and Consequences

What was the event that served as a pretext for the Kristallnacht?

a) Reichstag fire
b) Invasion of Poland
c) Assassination of Ernst Vom Rath
d) Treaty of Versailles
Final answer: c) Assassination of Ernst Vom Rath

The Event that Sparked the Kristallnacht

Ernst Vom Rath, who was posted to the German embassy in Paris, was assassinated, an event which ignited the terrifying Kristallnacht.

Ernst Vom Rath, a German diplomat, was tragically assassinated in Paris by a Polish-Jewish man named Herschel Grynszpan. This shocking event took place on November 7, 1938, and became a significant trigger for one of the most vicious episodes of violent anti-Jewish persecution in Nazi Germany, known as the Kristallnacht or the 'Night of Broken Glass'.

The assassination of Vom Rath provided the Nazis with a pretext to unleash a wave of violence against Jews throughout Germany. In the aftermath, nearly every synagogue in the country was burnt down, Jewish-owned businesses were destroyed, and countless Jewish individuals were arrested and subjected to brutal treatment.

This dark event marked a turning point in Nazi policies towards the Jewish population and paved the way for even more extreme acts of persecution, ultimately culminating in the horrors of the Holocaust.