KRISTALLNACHT SHOCKS THE PRESS

November 1938: Carefully orchestrated anti-Jewish violence erupts throughout Germany. More than 1,000 synagogues are burned, 7,000 businesses are ransacked and their windows are broken. About 30,000 Jewish men between the ages of 16-60 are arrested and sent to concentration camps. The pogrom is called "Kristallnacht" or Night of Broken Glass. The American press covers the Nazi pogroms in great detail, and the story stays on the front pages for weeks. This coverage should have set the standard for covering the Nazi’s persecution of the Jews.

What happened in Germany before Kristallnacht?
1933: On January 30, 1933, Adolph Hitler becomes chancellor of Germany, and six months later democracy is dead. The Nazis institute a
national boycott of Jewish businesses and start to enact laws designed to push Jews out of German society.
1934: German President Paul von Hindenburg dies and Hitler becomes the unchallenged ruler of Germany.
1935: The Nazis pass the Nuremburg Laws. These laws take away German citizenship from Jews, define Jews racially, and prohibit Jewish-
Aryan sexual relations.
1936: Germany hosts the Summer Olympics in Berlin. Evidence of blatant anti-Semitism is removed, but returns after the games conclude.
1937: At a secret conference, Hitler reveals his plans to dominate Europe.