PURELY COMMENTARY

essay

Kristallnacht: A Lethal Legacy 
of Legends and Lies 
I

f ever a human-orchestrated 
catastrophe in modern 
history was shrouded in 
strategic timing, propaganda 
and meticulously 
synchronized 
destructive 
actions, it is 
the so-called 
Nazi pogrom 
of November 
1938. Organized 
in retaliation 
against all Jews for the crime 
of one Jew, the heinous events 
of that tragic night marked a 
turning point in Nazi policy 
toward Jews — from legislative 
antisemitism to legalized 
mass violence. Nonetheless 
Kristallnacht furnished the 
world with a clear and ominous 
preview of what was to follow 
for the Jews under German rule 
in the next six years, from 1939-
1945. 
However, the global 
responses to that night’s 
ruthless defilement of Jews and 
their property fell gravely short 
of what was needed to curtail, 
much less halt Nazi plans to 
move forward with the next and 
more deadly phase of Jewish 
persecution. What happened 
or, more accurately, what didn’t 
happen on the part of foreign 
governments in response 
to Kristallnacht tragically 
contributed to the plight of Jews 
as they faced the beginning of 
the end without the means to 
defend themselves. 
In 1938, the Jews in Germany 
as well as those in the United 
States had little political 
clout or other means to fight 
back against antisemitism. 

Thankfully, that is not the case 
today. World Jewry, although 
far from united on many issues, 
can be counted on to come 
together when under attack. 
Our strength is grounded in 
solid institutions, especially 
the State of Israel, which is 
committed to “never again.
” 
How did Kristallnacht 
happen and why was it allowed 
to happen? The mass violence 
and destruction of that horrific 
night may be rationalized and 
reduced to a single occurrence 
— the shooting of a German 
diplomat, Ernst Vom Rath by 
a 17-year-old Jew, Herschel 
Grynszpan, on Nov. 7. When 
Vom Rath died two days later, 
according to the Nazi press, the 
“indignant masses of German 
people decided to rise up 
against all Jews to avenge his 
death.
” 
Thus, according to the media, 
Vom Rath became an instant 
folk hero and, as always, the 
Jews retained their role as the 
“eternal” enemy of the Germans. 
In the words of Joseph 
Goebbels, Nazi propaganda 
minister, “Kristallnacht was 

not a government action, but 
a spontaneous expression of 
German dissatisfaction with the 
Jews.
” With the death of Vom 
Rath, the Nazis were able to 
conjure up both the precipitator 
and the justification for the 
murder, looting and destruction. 
Let us briefly review 
Kristallnacht’s precipitating 
factors beginning with the 
shooting of Vom Rath. By 
late October 1938, Polish 
Jews all over Germany were 
being deported in cattle cars 
back to Poland and literally 
dumped on border towns along 
the German/Polish border 
without even the most basic 
of necessities — food, water, 
shelter. Before the deportations, 
Herschel Grynszpan had 
escaped from Poland to 
France. Like many thousands 
of others, he was living as an 
illegal immigrant. On Nov. 7, 
he received a postcard from his 
sister who graphically depicted 
the family’s sub-human living 
conditions in the Polish border 
town of Zybaszyn. She pleaded 
for Herschel to help. 
Outraged beyond measure by 

the news, Herschel used his last 
bit of cash to buy a revolver. He 
climbed down the subway steps 
and caught the express train to 
the German Embassy. There, he 
was greeted by Third Secretary, 
Vom Rath, who actually wanted 
to hear Grynspan out. Vom 
Rath had been unpopular 
with the Nazi Party for his 
sympathetic Jewish leanings. 
The rumor mill had indications 
that he might even be removed 
from his post. Yet, this was the 
man in German uniform that 
the fortunes of ill fate placed at 
Grynszpan’s gunpoint. 
Shot three times, Vom Rath 
tragically paid the ultimate 
price for being a good German 
under the Nazi hierarchy. Just 
when a miracle was about to 
occur and Vom Rath showed 
signs of pulling through, 
he suddenly died. Nowhere 
is it substantiated, but it is 
believed that Vom Rath was 
actually poisoned by the Nazis 
themselves. Hitler and his 
henchmen were seeking just 
such a fallen hero who could 
justify an escalation of violence 
against the Jews in Germany. 
Suddenly, they had their pretext, 
their hero and what the Nazis 
desired above all — their 
“collective” villain. 
Documented evidence cor-
roborates that the Nazis had 
been planning for sometime a 
“Reichspogromnacht” (a night 
of state-sponsored pogrom) 
against the Jews. The leader-
ship was just waiting for an 
opportune moment and the 
right cover. Those carrying out 
the pogrom were not ordinary 
local German citizens, as por-

KARL H. PAULMANN/COPYFRAUD: JEAN-PIERRE DALBÉRA

Karen Sutton

8 | NOVEMBER 17 • 2022 

