Jewish Central Information Office

Kristallnacht, also known as Reichskristallnacht, Reichspogromnacht, Crystal Night and the Night of the Broken Glass, was a pogrom against Jews throughout Germany, 9 Nov-10 Nov 1938. Jewish homes along with 8,000 Jewish shops were ransacked in numerous German cities, towns and villages as civilians and both the SA (Sturmabteilung) and the SS (Schutzstaffel) destroyed buildings with sledgehammers, leaving the streets covered in shards of glass from broken windows - the origin of the name Night of Broken Glass. Jews were beaten to death. 30,000 Jewish men were taken to concentration camps and 1,668 synagogues ransacked, with 267 set on fire.