Kristallnacht: the Nazi terror that began the Holocaust

On November 10, 1938, Francis Schott slept peacefully in his bed. Suddenly, a group of Nazis broke into his house and began to destroy it. They wanted to demolish everything because Francis’s family was Jewish. For days, violent attacks like this took place throughout Nazi Germany and came to be known as Kristallnacht, the “Night of Broken Glass.” The Nazis destroyed thousands of Jewish homes and businesses, burned down hundreds of synagogues, and murdered many people. The brutal assault came to an end, but it marked the beginning of something much worse: the Holocaust.