ISBN: 0718131118 9780718131111

Category: History / Modern / 20th Century / Holocaust

Page count: 306

Recounts the events of the "Kristallnacht" pogrom, its antecedents and its aftermath. Traces the life of Herschel Grynszpan, whose assassination of Ernst vom Rath furnished the pretext for the pogrom. Describes Goebbels' decision to initiate the riots and the transmission of instructions to local SA and SS leaders and the police. Details events, largely on the basis of correspondence with eyewitnesses. Thousands of Jewish Jewish men were arrested and sent to concentration camps. Notes a few brave German voices raised in protest. Records the 12 November meeting of the Committee for the Economic Solution of the Jewish Question, chaired by Göring, which decided on the payment of a billion-mark fine by the Jews, the Aryanization of all Jewish businesses, and the social segregation of Jews. Discusses the revulsion of world public opinion, the silence of governments, and half-hearted efforts of the international community to find countries willing to accept Jewish refugees, including the unsuccessful Evian Conference.