Kristallnacht: A Lesson in How Incitement and Propaganda Lead to Horrific Violence
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by Emanuel Miller
A Jewish-owned business in Vienna in the wake of the Kristallnacht pogrom of Nov. 9 and 10, 1938. Image: Screenshot.
On November 9-10, 1938, the Nazis began destroying thousands of Jewish properties and homes throughout Germany. The onslaught became known as Kristallnacht — the “Night of Broken Glass.”
After years of fomenting anti-Jewish hate and enacting race laws forbidding Jews from all aspects of civil life — and after multiple boycotts of Jewish businesses — the course of history was changed forever, as Jews were physically attacked en masse.
For years, Nazi propaganda targeted German Jews, framing them as disloyal, inhuman, and responsible for economic disasters such as the 1920s hyperinflation and the Great Depression, as well as all the wars and ills of the world.
In November 1938, that turned to violence and murder. The Holocaust followed.
Words have meaning, and have a very real effect on the world.
It is our duty to remember, and to stand up to hate speech, propaganda, and lies.
Emanuel Miller is a writer-researcher for HonestReporting, a Jerusalem-based media watchdog with a focus on antisemitism and anti-Israel bias.
