Anyway, this brutal account lasts for a little over half the book. What follows is the attempt by many of the Jews to get out of Germany. It was not such an easy thing, as the Nazis were hardly helpful, and other European countries argued over refugee quotas. This part of the book is also quite sad, but it is punctuated by some real heroes, such as Captain Frank Foley, the British Passport Control Officer in Berlin (also a spy), and Dr. Feng Shan Ho, the Chinese Consul General in Vienna. Both men would work night and day to help Jews to emigrate to both Britain and China. They saved thousands. And there were others (the "Righteous" as Gilbert calls them) that history has also forgotten. As the window to escape closes, the beginnings of the Final Solution start to reveal themselves.

Short and simply written, Deem provides a brief history of the Kristallnacht. The terror is brought home by the collection of true stories Deem retells. Lauber, Heinz (1981). Judenpogrom: "Reichskristallnacht" November 1938 in Grossdeutschland: Daten, Fakten, Dokumente, Quellentexte, Thesen und Bewertungen (Aktuelles Taschenbuch) (in German). Bleicher. ISBN 3-88350-005-4.

Walter Buch to Goring, 13.2.1939, Michaelis and Schraepler, Ursachen, Vol.12, p. 582 as cited in Friedländer, p. 271. Gillott, Hannah (3 August 2023). "Virtual Holocaust museum to be launched in Fortnite". The Jewish Chronicle. Archived from the original on 9 August 2023 . Retrieved 13 August 2023. Martin Gilbert collects and relates first hand experiences of Kristallnacht. At times, the book feels like a loosely connected series of mini-narratives, but it is so engrossing that this fact doesn't distance the reader. It should be noted that if Gilbert's footnotes are any indication some of the accounts came from letters that Gilbert recieved (most likely after solicting) from witnesses.

Connolly, Kate (22 October 2008). "Kristallnacht remnants unearthed near Berlin". The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on 3 September 2013 . Retrieved 7 May 2010.Further information: History of the Jews in Austria, History of the Jews in Germany, Anti-Jewish legislation in pre-war Nazi Germany, and Nuremberg Laws Early Nazi persecutions [ edit ] Part of a series on The Kindertransports of children took many. Sir Nicholas Winton saved many and Captain Foley in Berlin and Dr Feng Shan Ho in Vienna undoubtedly saved thousands by issuing many visas. And some ordinary Germans stood against the tide and did what they could.

Friedländer, Saul. Nazi Germany and The Jews, volume 1: The Years of Persecution 1933–1939, London: Phoenix, 1997, p. 270 GermanNotes, "Kristallnacht - Night of Broken Glass". Archived from the original on 19 April 2005 . Retrieved 6 March 2009. , retrieved 26 November 2007 It was in response to the shooting of a German diplomat by a young Jew, Herschel Grynszpa, who walked into the German Embassy and shot a diplomat, Von Rath, who later died. He had been inspired to commit this act by the fate of his own family who had been part of the expulsion of 12,000 Jews to Poland. 4000 were accepted by the authorities but the rest, destitute and penniless,

Origin of the Name "Kristallnacht" 

The reaction of non-Jewish Germans to Kristallnacht was varied. Many spectators gathered on the scenes, most of them in silence. The local fire departments confined themselves to prevent the flames from spreading to neighboring buildings. In Berlin, police Lieutenant Otto Bellgardt barred SA troopers from setting the New Synagogue on fire, earning his superior officer a verbal reprimand from the commissioner. [55] Portrait of Paul Ehrlich, damaged on Kristallnacht, then restored by a German neighbor Pehle, Walter H. (1988). Der Judenpogrom 1938: Von der "Reichskristallnacht" zum Völkermord (in German). Frankfurt am Main: Fischer Taschenbuch Verlag. ISBN 3-596-24386-6. On on November 8 it had been announced that Jewish children could no longer attend "Aryan" state elementary schools, something that had hitherto been allowed where there were not sufficient Jewish elementary schools. At the same time all Jewish cultural activities were suspended "indefinitely. Kristallnacht, literally, "Night of Crystal," is often referred to as the "Night of Broken Glass." The name refers to the wave of violent anti-Jewish pogroms which took place on November 9 and 10, 1938. This wave of violence took place throughout Germany, annexed Austria, and in areas of the Sudetenland in Czechoslovakia recently occupied by German troops.