Forty-eight years ago, 1,900 years of Judaism in Germany came to an end
I recently read in an encyclopedia:
"Kristallnacht – A pogrom organized by the Nazi Party in Germany on November 9 and 10, 1938. Thirty-six Jews were killed and another 36 were injured."
Well, it wasn't that simple! It wasn't just a pogrom. A pogrom wouldn't have been anything new. Since the 18th century, numerous pogroms have decimated the Jewish communities of Eastern Europe, and it would be fair and worthwhile to devote an evening to that part of our history at some point, but that's not our topic today.
Kristallnacht, the 45th anniversary of which we mark tonight, was a cataclysm. Cataclysms are not sudden, isolated events with no connection in time; on the contrary, they have a gestation period and irreversible consequences. For this reason, this is not a mere commemorative event. We Jews have the traditional custom of “lernen,” of gathering to study; we have a passion for wanting to know, to investigate, to understand. So tonight, gathered here, we will try to learn something about the origins and consequences of Kristallnacht.
It is not easy to describe the context of Kristallnacht. There isn’t much material in literature or specialized sources, although there are documents that unequivocally confirm the events. The fact is that no one stopped to dwell on the event at the time, and later, the capacity for horror was quite rightly absorbed by the endless, chilling memories, stories, and nightmares of the Holocaust—perhaps humanity’s most traumatic experience.
However, Kristallnacht has its own significance, its own historical context, and its own background. In our attempt to understand it, we must go back to the beginnings of Jewish life in German-speaking countries, there in the Rhine Valley, in the early years of the Christian era, before the Germanic tribes established their first settlements. They arrived with the Roman legions and, subject to Roman law, lived in the Roman colonies. Among them were the first agents of trade, specifically with the Germanic peoples living east of the Roman fortifications.
It was only after the war against France in 1870–71 that a law was enacted throughout Germany repealing all restrictions still in force against Jews—a decisive milestone in the history of the Jews in Germany. They were no longer caricatures but free men. From then on, a promising future lay ahead of them.
Perhaps we should ask ourselves here: Why did the Jews remain in Germany and keep returning to the places of their humiliation and martyrdom throughout so many centuries of unending misfortune?
Well, it wasn’t exactly the same families who settled along the Rhine in the first century and those who celebrated emancipation nearly 1,900 years later; there were ups and downs. However, it’s only natural that, after so many centuries of living in the country, they felt truly at home. Moreover, with their deep religious devotion, which remained unchanged until the end of the 18th century, they wished as much as possible to remain near the graves of their loved ones and revered ancestors, to whom they were bound by a living tradition.
Moreover, let’s consider for a moment the communities that live in areas periodically struck by earthquakes or hurricanes, who, after each disaster, return and rebuild their makeshift homes yet again—sometimes more than once in a lifetime. Yet they never leave the region.
Ultimately, we must remember that over the centuries, many thousands fled eastward. To the comparatively underdeveloped regions between the Vistula and the Dnieper, they brought Western progress along with the profound and scholarly religious tradition that had developed in Germany and its Judeo-German language, which would evolve into Yiddish. For several hundred years, those eastern countries served as safe havens for hundreds of thousands. They achieved unparalleled material prosperity and spiritual and religious flourishing, until, beginning in 1648, that oasis too was struck by catastrophe in the person of the Cossack leader Bogdan Khmelnitsky.
Among other reasons, the growing rebellion of the Orthodox Greek Catholic regional majorities against the frivolous oppression by the hated Roman Catholic ruling class was directed against the Jews, and from then until the end of the 19th century, the most heartless massacres befell the Jews of Poland and Russia. This is another chapter we must study, a chapter of the greatest glories and the most abject ignominy. There, too, many emigrated to America, but even in 1939, fate caught up with more than 3 million who had not left. They, too, felt at home.
Conditions in the rest of Europe were no better. In every country, Jews were ostracized and excluded for centuries; only in Germany were they never expelled from the entire territory. And when a city or principality expelled them, doors would always open for them elsewhere—albeit in exchange for heavy taxes. But what good is money, if not to save lives?
Even after the victorious war of 1870–71 and the confirmation of "de jure" emancipation, the most relentless anti-Jewish attacks continued unabated until the end of the century. The repeated incitements to violence did not come to fruition this time. However, in 1881 a delegation of deputies presented Chancellor Bismarck with a petition proposing the complete elimination of Jews from national life. Bismarck did not even acknowledge receipt, yet the petition bore 267,000 signatures!
From the circle surrounding Richard Wagner in Bayreuth, however, a new and significant variation and contribution to the traditional anti-Jewish struggle emerged: racial motivation, the call to save German identity from the yoke of the Jewish race. In 1891, another accusation of ritual murder was brought in Xanten, and although the prosecutor requested the acquittal of the accused, the anti-Semitic leader Stoecker did not miss the opportunity to launch furious, hostile diatribes in Parliament.
Let us consider, my friends: on the threshold of the 20th century, the entire arsenal for a renewed anti-Jewish campaign was already fully in place: slogans, arguments, justifications, pamphlets, slander, and catchphrases. Adolf Hitler had to invent or improvise nothing; everything was served up on a platter for him to launch, thirty years later, the most unheard-of genocide ever committed against a defenseless minority.
Let us recall, in passing, that around the same time, in 1895, the impact of the scandalous Dreyfus affair in France inspired the Viennese journalist Dr. Theodor Herzl to conceive the then-revolutionary idea of modern political Zionism, which, 50 years later, would culminate in the proclamation of the modern State of Israel in the ancient land of Palestine.
"Jews, go to Palestine!" was the battle cry of the anti-Semites of that era. "Jews, get out of Palestine!" is the battle cry of today's anti-Semites.
There are two other extensive and valuable topics that we must set aside tonight: the rich religious and liturgical creativity of German Judaism and, above all, its most significant contribution to the future of Judaism—its engagement with the tools of modern science, the Science of Judaism; and, on the other hand, the rich and multifaceted contribution of Jews to the sciences, culture, and arts of Germany and the rest of the world. It is not out of courtesy that Robert-Hermann Terbrock states in his 1965 “History of Germany”: “German Judaism in the ancient Roman cities situated on the banks of the Rhine and the Moselle had the longest tradition of Jewish-German coexistence and was therefore the most familiar with German culture.”
The 20th century brought World War I and the birth of the German Republic in 1919; Jews defended their homeland in the war, alongside all Germans; Jews suffered the consequences of defeat, alongside all Germans; Jews were among the founders and leaders of the new democratic state. The first victim of the backlash was a Jewish woman: Walter Rathenau. However, the fledgling Republic, overwhelmed by postwar misery and the lack of vision on the part of the victorious powers, lacked the strength to defend its democratic principles. When, in 1923, the newly formed National Socialist German Workers’ Party under the leadership of Alois Schickelgruber (alias Adolf Hitler) attempted a failed “putsch,” they merely confined its leader for a few months, instead of nipping in the bud that openly ultra-nationalist, revanchist, and virulently anti-Jewish movement.
He quickly secured the financial backing of the steel barons and all the reactionary landowners in the country, organized his assault squads—the SA—which from the outset were made up of outlaws, ex-convicts, and all manner of unscrupulous individuals, and soon came to dominate the streets through unbridled terror. Neither the police nor the small, fledgling Reichswehr were in a position to put a stop to his abuses, no matter how much they declared them illegal.
To the heavy industry bosses, Hitler promises war and glory. To the workers, the unemployed, the disenfranchised petty bourgeoisie, the war widows, and all sorts of ne'er-do-wells, he promises them what they want to hear:
He promises to restore the honor of a Germany defeated by internal betrayal,
It promises a rematch,
He promises to save Germany and the world from communism,
He promises to free the country from the yoke of the peace treaty,
It promises jobs and bread,
It promises to promote technology, science, and the arts,
He promises to increase pensions and benefits for veterans,
He promises to lead the German people, the vanguard of the Germanic race, to their glorious destiny as rulers of the world, and
He promises to wipe out from Germany and from the face of the earth those responsible for all misfortunes and misery: the evil, subhuman, intolerable Jewish race.
He didn't add anything, nor did he invent anything; he took the ingredients that had been prepared years ago, mixed them well before use, and applied them with energy and dedication.
Within a few years, he came to power through entirely legal means, even though he led a minority parliamentary faction of only 196 out of 472 members, who had been elected in November 1932 but were, without a single exception, all convicted criminals.
On January 30, 1933, the dance of death begins. That very night, amid the frenzied torchlight parades, the first murders take place right in the street, along with kidnappings whose victims return mutilated or severely injured—or never return at all. “Send 50 marks so we can send you his ashes.” And the family receives a small box of cigars, filled with gravel and sand. Anyone who speaks of this will be prosecuted for defaming New Germany. Of course: in Berlin, the capital, nothing serious is happening. That is where the diplomatic corps and reporters from all over the world reside, and they are serious and responsible leaders. The first concentration camps—"re-education" camps—are already emerging; the motto "Work sets you free" shines above their gates. It is only the beginning.
Alongside the first anti-Jewish measures and laws, a systematic offensive against the unity of the German family also begins, carried out through terror and sexual or other forms of corruption. A week before the last relatively free elections on March 5, the Parliament building, the "Reichstag," is set on fire by an alleged communist mercenary. The Communist Party was dissolved, and its elected representatives expelled. A few days later, absolute powers were granted to Hitler, and the system was up and running.
April 1, 1933
The day of the nationwide “boycott” of all Jewish businesses, planned down to the smallest detail. In Berlin, everything is calm; it’s just a call for reflection. In the provinces, they break the bones of anyone who opens their mouth or goes near a Jewish business. Every few days or weeks, new anti-Jewish decrees are issued. One takes the blows in stride and learns to live with them, if one cannot emigrate yet. Everything is just the same as it was 1,000 years ago.
July 1933
The cultural concordat between the Vatican and Adolf Hitler is celebrated, yet this does not prevent the repeated atrocities, attacks, and looting committed against convents and friars, nor the arrest and internment in concentration camps of parish priests and bishops who urge their parishioners to reflect.
November 1933
Germany withdraws from the League of Nations and signs a non-aggression pact with Poland.
The people approve—the world remains silent.
1934
The homosexual leadership of the SA, so useful at first, has overstepped its authority and ambitions and is hindering the Gestapo’s plans: on the night of June 30, hundreds or thousands of homosexual comrades are murdered throughout the Reich. It is said that Hitler personally forced Ernst Röhm, commander-in-chief of the SA and his personal deputy, to commit suicide.
This opportunity is used to eliminate countless opponents or simply internal rivals, as well as several leaders of Catholic Action.
1935
January: The Saar coalfield is reclaimed.
June: Treaty with England regarding naval fleets, violated even before it was signed.
The people are in an uproar—the people remain silent.
July: Infamous racial laws enacted in Nuremberg.
1936
March: The 1919 Treaty of Versailles is denounced, and the Rhineland is remilitarized. Nazi legions take part in the Spanish Civil War in support of Franco.
August: The Olympics in Berlin, with participants from all over the world except the Soviet Union.
The people are in an uproar—the world remains silent.
November: The Berlin-Rome axis is expanded to include Japan.
The town celebrates—the world remains silent.
1937
There are no longer any Jewish college students, professors, civil servants, lawyers, notaries, judges, or doctors.
It is impossible to describe in full detail the abuses and atrocities that occur on a daily basis.
Preparations are underway for the annexation of Austria.
The people are silent—the world is silent.
1938
March: Annexation of Austria
The people are in an uproar—the world remains silent.
September: Annexation of the Sudetenland.
The people are in an uproar—the world gives in and surrenders in Munich
October: Poland has stripped of citizenship every Pole who has lived abroad for more than five years. On October 28, the Nazis deported 20,000 Polish Jews—now stateless—in a single day: men, women, and children. The Poles refused to let them in; they spent days and days in no man’s land, without food or shelter, in the fields. Many died a miserable death; the rest were allowed to pass.
The people don't know—the world remains silent: No interference in internal affairs!
Among those deported was a couple from Hanover, the Grünspans. Their 17-year-old son, who was mentally disabled, had managed to flee to France earlier. He bought a revolver and, on November 7, went to the German Embassy and shot an official twice; the victim turned out to be Ernst von Rath, the embassy’s counselor. On the 9th, the victim succumbed to his wounds. The Jews of Germany held their breath, turning pale with fear: what was being plotted?
November 9 marks another anniversary of the 1923 Nazi “putsch.” All the surviving old comrades and the top leaders and dignitaries of the SA have gathered in Munich. Immediately, orders are issued by telephone from Munich throughout the Reich: punitive actions at their discretion, to be carried out in civilian clothing so as not to compromise the Party. Police and firefighters are mobilized but must intervene only in cases of danger to the safety of Aryan neighbors. This is how the “spontaneous” outburst of German indignation at the new “crime of the Jews” works. In many German cities, as early as the day before, piles of rubble have been stacked on the corners of downtown streets, which will now, coincidentally, serve as projectiles.
But let's take a moment to consider:
Herschel Grünspan is living in France as a refugee; his papers are in order, but he doesn’t speak the language with a native accent. Who would sell him a gun? A gun dealer? Without a gun permit? And who would sell a gun on the black market to a stranger?
Who would introduce or recommend him? And then, in 1938, Herschel Grünspan goes to the Nazi Embassy in Paris with sketchy documentation and armed—and they let him in without any trouble?
Von Rath, for his part, was the son of an old aristocratic family; they had supported Hitler at first, but had since come to despise and hate him. His timely elimination surely did not cause the Nazis much grief. Ernst von Rath was given a state funeral, but Herschel Grünspan was not.
And so, “Kristallnacht” began “spontaneously.”
Almost simultaneously, more than 600 synagogues throughout the Reich were set on fire, blown up, or looted; Torah scrolls that were not stolen were consumed by the flames. In many places, community centers and cemeteries were devastated. Thousands of Jewish businesses and homes were destroyed and looted, in some cities with chilling thoroughness. The shattering of glass and the uproar of the mob dividing up the spoils lasted all night and continued into the next day.
Many families are left with nothing but the clothes on their backs: from pianos to books, paintings, handkerchiefs, and teaspoons, everything is frantically thrown out through the broken windows. Some 30,000 men and teenage boys are arrested and taken to concentration camps that night. Many return over the next few days, filled with horror. According to official figures, 36 Jews were killed and another 36 were wounded.
Starting at 1:30 a.m., the regional headquarters of the S.S. began receiving detailed reports on the achievements of local officials. At its meeting on November 12, the full cabinet evaluated the results of the operation and supplemented them with several decrees:
(a) German Jews were imposed a collective fine of 1.25 billion marks, payable within a strict deadline.
(b) As of January 1, 1939, Jews are prohibited from operating retail, wholesale, or distribution and agency businesses, as well as from practicing any trade on an independent basis.
They are also prohibited from displaying or selling goods, services, or handicrafts at markets or fairs.
No Jew may manage a commercial or industrial enterprise as an employee.
No Jew may be a member of a cooperative.
(c) Jewish owners or tenants of damaged premises must restore them at their own expense as soon as possible, thereby restoring the urban appearance of German streets. Any sums payable by insurance companies for this purpose shall be confiscated by the Reich.
(d) Effective immediately, Jews are prohibited from attending cultural events, theaters, movie theaters, concerts, lectures, and artistic performances of any kind, including variety shows, cabarets, circuses, ballets, and art exhibitions.
The Jews now had no choice but to sell their businesses, factories, and workshops at ridiculously low prices set by Party commissioners. In many cases, the deeds were drawn up in the commissioner’s name, who would immediately resell the property to the actual buyer for many times the cost. The buyer also had the moral advantage of having purchased the property legally from an Aryan.
So far, these are just a few illustrative details regarding the degree of premeditation behind that spontaneous outburst of popular anger and the general state of affairs in Germany at that time.
The decisive factor, however, was the destruction of the synagogues.
We have already tried tonight to explain why the Jews endured so much misfortune, persecution, and abuse on German soil without leaving. Let us summarize, then:
After 1,900 years, they had developed a genuine sense of belonging and a legitimate sense of homeland. It is likely that many could not identify as German, but they felt at home. Despite more than 1,000 years of uninterrupted persecution in one part of Germany or another, and despite the deaths of tens of thousands of victims and martyrs, they managed—or had to manage—to survive with God’s help, as an ethnic and religious group, until they finally achieved their emancipation, their most cherished civic achievement.
This explains why, even then, after nearly six years of relentless Nazi oppression, many had nevertheless kept alive deep within their hearts the faith and hope that a new miracle would occur at any moment, that the hated and feared Nazi regime would collapse, and that the sufferings of those years would be left behind as just another chapter in their journey toward eternity.
Many of these only partially emancipated Jews did not observe their religious traditions with the same total devotion as their parents and grandparents; yet, for all of them, the synagogue was their spiritual home, their sole source of solace and safe haven, their anchor of continuity. The fire, the destruction of their synagogues throughout the country, pulled the rug out from under their feet, paralyzed their senses. What the Crusades, the plague, and the Inquisition had failed to achieve, “Kristallnacht” accomplished.
This, then, was truly the end: the collapse of all their hopes and their view of the world. This world would never be rebuilt! November 9, 1938, marks the end of 1,900 years of Judaism in Germany.
In most cities, bulldozers leveled the rubble of the synagogues. In my city, the site remains barren, and a small memorial stone has been erected that reads: “The conscience of the world is love.” Not a word about Jews or Nazis, or about the destroyed synagogues. In several cities, local governments have had synagogues rebuilt with great goodwill. These have been acts of decency and goodwill. But this will not bring German Judaism back to life.
However, we have not come here tonight simply to recite the Kaddish, the prayer for the dead, for German Judaism. We must say something more, if you will allow me.
This time, no one—neither the German people nor the peoples of the world—could claim ignorance or a lack of information. Despite the appalling monstrosity of the crime, which deliberately defies the world’s conscience, no one is attempting to react. The press around the world reports the news with horror, yet in Germany no one dares to speak out. The strongest response has been the temporary recall of the U.S. ambassador from Berlin.
The rest: dismay, but silence. Hitler has won a decisive victory. This was a decisive showdown between the most abject infamy and the free world’s capacity to respond. The world gave in; Hitler triumphed. The gradual indoctrination through terror, boldly carried out by Hitler over six years, has succeeded in deeply numbing the world’s moral reflexes.
The world’s silence in the face of the burning of German synagogues served as a green light for World War II and the “Final Solution.” That is why today, 45 years later, we once again raise our anguished voice in protest, warning, and appeal.
Every day, all around the globe, we witness outbreaks and acts of anti-Jewish aggression, both in word and deed, whether inspired by neo-Nazism, Bolshevism, or Pan-Arabism. It is with great sorrow that we also see them in Latin America. These outbreaks pose a direct threat to us Jews, and rest assured, my friends, we will remain vigilant and defend ourselves.
However, I fervently wish I possessed the gift of eloquence that would allow me to show our non-Jewish friends that today the struggle begins against us, the Jews, and tomorrow it will be against them. We must finally recognize that acts of anti-Semitism are acts of terrorism, and the ultimate goal of terrorism, whatever its form, is to corrupt the moral instincts and the capacity for response of free peoples who are honestly committed to peace.
We will continue to denounce, without fear or hesitation, every act, every publication, and every anti-Jewish offense, wherever they may occur. We will combat those responsible using all lawful means at our disposal, so that they are subject to punitive measures of a deterrent nature, in genuine defense of peace and coexistence among people of all races, backgrounds, and faiths.
In this line of thought, we cannot overlook the following: the rebirth of the Jewish State was the culmination of the daily, age-old dream of the Jews in the Diaspora, including during their 1,900-year presence in Germany. It was the fruit of the tireless efforts of a relatively small group of men and women who devoted their lives entirely to the Zionist ideal. However, this historic achievement was only possible with the support of the European peoples, who, acknowledging the magnitude of the catastrophe and realizing that their own response had been too late, understood their inexcusable obligation to support the just cause of the Jewish people.
It is my fervent hope that these peoples, just like our brothers and sisters in the Americas who supported us, will understand and recognize that Israel’s cause is as just today as it was 45 years ago; and that they not allow themselves to be pressured by extra-regional forces to abandon their conviction that a prosperous future for all the peoples of the Middle East can only begin to be built once terrorism has been eradicated and there is recognition of and peace with Israel.
My friends:
The flames of the synagogues destroyed in Germany just 45 years ago continue to burn, and they must not be extinguished. They continue to burn in our hearts; they enlighten and inspire us, and will drive us until the end of our days on this earth to fight against ignorance and ignominy and to strive for the fulfillment of the aspirations most dear to all of us: benevolence, brotherly love, and harmony among all people.