Kristallnacht "The Night of the Broken Glass"

Registration of Property

Apr 26, 1938

German Jews required to register their property. At this point, all Jews basically owned absolutely nothing.

Evian Conference

Jul 25, 1938

Convened by President Roosevelt, 32 coutries met at the Evian Conference in France to discuss refugee problems. Little is acomplished; most Western countries were unwilling to accept Jewish refugees.

Expulsion of Polish Jews

Oct 28, 1938

Affected nearly 18, 000 Polish-Jews. Passports of Polish citizens residing abroad for more than five years would require revalidation.

Cease of Business

Nov 12, 1938

All Jewish retail establishments in Germany ordered to cease business by the end of the year.

White Paper Issue

May 1, 1939

British government issues a White Paper which restricts future Jewish immigration to Palestine to 75,000 over the next five years.

Jews turned away from Cuba

Jul 1, 1939

The S.S. St. Louis, carrying 930 Jewish refugees, is turned away by Cuba. The U.S. refuses to admit the refugees, who are forced to return to Europe.

Invasion of Poland

Sep 1, 1939

Germany invades Poland. Polish Jews soon become prisoners.

The call for violence to stop by Goebbels

Oct 21, 1939

Sixty-two Jews suffered punishment so severe that the police, “unable to bear their cries, turned their backs”. They were beaten until they fell and, when they fell, they were further beaten. At the end of it, “twelve of the sixty-two were dead, their skulls smashed. The others were all unconscious. The eyes of some had been knocked out, their faces flattened and shapeless”. The 30,000 Jewish men who had been imprisoned during Kristallnacht were released over the next three months.

Polish People Die

Nov 11, 1939

Germans have killed more than 16,000 Polish civilians in first six weeks of war. Five thousand of them are Jewish.