Synopses & Reviews
On the nights of November 9 and 10, 1938, rampaging mobs throughout Germany and the newly acquired territories of Austria and Sudetenland freely attacked Jews in the street, in their homes and at their places of work and worship. At least 96 Jews were killed and hundreds more injured, as many as 2,000 synagogues were burned, almost 7,500 Jewish businesses were destroyed, cemeteries and schools were vandalized, and 30,000 Jews were arrested and sent to concentration camps. This pogrom has come to be called
Kristallnacht, "the Night of Broken Glass."
Although numerous anti-Jewish regulations had been adopted prior to Kristallnacht, these measures had only imposed restrictions on German Jews' economic activity and occupational opportunities. Prior to Kristallnacht, the Jews had little reason to believe their physical safety was at risk. That all changed 70 years ago this coming November. The events of that night were the beginning of the Holocaust.
It is fitting that a book record the events of this seminal historical event on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of Kristallnacht. This book provides an account of the incidents immediately preceding the attacks on November 9-10, an oral history that provides a minute-by-minute and hour-by-hour account of what happened during the pogroms, and an analysis of the immediate aftermath and why the Holocaust can be dated from this evening.
Review
Gripping oral history . . . A searing depiction of the Holocausts opening ceremonies.” --Kirkus Reviews The further away we get from the years of the Holocaust, the more necessary it is to recount what happened. One of the seminal events in Hitlers goal to destroy European Jewry was the Night of Broken Glass” --
Kristallnacht. Mitchell Bard provides a comprehensive and penetrating account that should be read not only as a history of Holocaust, but as a lesson for the future.” --Abraham H. Foxman, National Director of the Anti-Defamation League and author of
The Deadliest Lies: The Israel Lobby and the Myth of Jewish Control and
Never Again? The Threat of the New Anti-Semitism Kristallnachts new Book of Lamentations. Mitchell Bards 48 Hours of Kristallnachts power derives from the stark and vivid words of German Jewish children who, in a single day saw their well-ordered world suddenly destroyed by the Nazis brutality and the apathy and silence of neighbors and classmates.”
--Rabbi Abraham Cooper, Associate Dean of the Simon Weisnthal Center
The most detailed and thoroughly researched book yet on the events of Kristallnacht.” --Booklist
Synopsis
Prior to Kristallnacht, Jews had little reason to believe their physical safety was at risk.
That all changed seventy years ago. One of the seminal events in Hitlers goal to destroy European Jewry was the Night of Broken GlassKristallnacht. Mitchell Bard provides a comprehensive and penetrating account that should be read not only as a history of the Holocaust, but also as a lesson for the future.”Abraham H. Foxman, National Director of the Anti-Defamation League, author of The Deadliest Lies: The Israel Lobby and the Myth of Jewish Control Kristallnachts new Book of Lamentations. The power of Mitchell Bards 48 Hours of Kristallnacht derives from the stark and vivid words of German Jewish children who, in a single day, saw their well-ordered world suddenly destroyed by the Nazis brutality and by the apathy and silence of their neighbors and classmates.”
Rabbi Abraham Cooper, Associate Dean of the Simon Wiesenthal Center
Synopsis
On the night of November 9, 1938, rampaging mobs throughout Germany and the newly acquired territories of Austria and Sudetenland freely attacked Jews in the street, in their homes, and at their places of work and worship. Over the next forty-eight hours at least ninety-six Jews were killed and hundreds more injured, as many as 2,000 synagogues were burned, almost 7,500 Jewish businesses were destroyed, cemeteries and schools were vandalized, and 30,000 Jews were arrested and sent to concentration camps. This pogrom has come to be called Kristallnacht, Night of Broken Glass.”
48 Hours of Kristallnacht is the first book to thoroughly chronicle this pivotal event by presenting a wide array of eyewitness testimony, much of it previously unpublished, and to set the event firmly in historical context. Drawing on his unprecedented access to key archives, Dr. Mitchell G. Bard presents a shocking story that centers on the words of those who, as children, were on the scene first-hand. Together, these accounts and Bards incisive analysis reveal what led up to the pogroms, how they transpired, and their aftermathand why the Holocaust can be dated from these two harrowing nights.
Synopsis
On the occasion of the 70th anniversary of Kristallnacht, Mitchell Bard provides a comprehensive and penetrating account [of the events of that night] that should be read not only as a history of Holocaust, but as a lesson for the future. (Abraham H. Foxman, National Director of the Anti-Defamation League).
About the Author
Dr. Mitchell Bard is the Executive Director of the nonprofit American-Israeli Cooperative Enterprise and the director of the Jewish Virtual Library (www.JewishVirtualLibrary.org), the worlds most comprehensive online encyclopedia of Jewish history and culture (which averages nearly 1.5 million visitors per month).
Table of Contents
Introduction
I. Warning Signs
II. A Harsh Childhood
III. Coming of Age and Heroes of Another Age
IV. Goodbye Daddy
V. Walking Through The Looking Glass
VI. Synagogues Aflame
VII. Saving and Taking Lives
VIII. The Road to Hell
Appendices
Bibliography
Sources
Acknowledgments
Index
About the Author