{"id":558807,"date":"2025-11-09T06:30:55","date_gmt":"2025-11-09T06:30:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/558807\/"},"modified":"2025-11-09T06:30:55","modified_gmt":"2025-11-09T06:30:55","slug":"november-9-is-a-fateful-day-in-the-history-of-germany","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/558807\/","title":{"rendered":"November 9 is a fateful day in the history of Germany"},"content":{"rendered":"

The date on which the monarchy fell in 1918, Adolf Hitler staged his failed coup attempt in 1923<\/a>, the Nazis and antisemitic mobs<\/a> attacked synagogues and Jewish homes and businesses in 1938, and the Berlin Wall fell in 1989, November 9 is known as the “day of destiny” in Germany.<\/p>\n

DW surveys some moments that set the course of German history.<\/p>\n

\"What<\/p>\n

What happened on November 9-10, 1938? – Anti-Semitic mobs, led by SA paramilitaries, went on rampages throughout Nazi Germany. Synagogues like this one in the eastern city of Chemnitz and other Jewish-owned property were destroyed, and Jews were subject to public humiliation and arrested. According to official records, at least 91 Jews were killed \u2014 though the real death toll was likely much higher.picture alliance<\/p>\n

\"What's<\/p>\n

What’s behind the name? – The street violence against German Jews is known by a variety of names. Berliners called it Kristallnacht, from which the English “Night of Broken Glass” is derived. It recalls the shards of shattered glass from the windows of synagogues, homes and Jewish-owned businesses. Nowadays, in German, it’s also common to speak of the “pogrom night” or the “November pogroms.”picture alliance\/akg-images<\/p>\n

\"What<\/p>\n

What was the official reason for the pogrom? – The event that provided the excuse for the violence was the murder of German diplomat Ernst vom Rath by Herschel Grynszpan, a 17-year-old Polish Jew. Vom Rath was shot at close range at the German Embassy in Paris on November 7, and died days later. Grynszpan wasn’t executed for the crime; no one knows whether he survived the Third Reich or died in a concentration camp.picture-alliance\/Imagno\/Schostal Archiv<\/p>\n

\"How<\/p>\n

How did the violence start? – After vom Rath’s death, Adolf Hitler gave Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels permission to launch the pogrom. Violence had already broken out in some places, and Goebbels gave a speech indicating the Nazis would not quash any “spontaneous” protests against the Jews. The SS were instructed to allow “only such measures as do not entail any danger to German lives and property.”dpa\/everettcollection<\/p>\n

\"Was<\/p>\n

Was the violence an expression of popular anger? – No \u2014 that was just the official Nazi party line, but no one believed it. Constant references to “operations” and “measures” in Nazi documents clearly indicate the violence was planned ahead of time. It’s unclear what ordinary Germans thought of the mayhem. There is evidence of popular disapproval, but the fact that the couple in the left of this picture appear to be laughing also speaks volumes.Bundesarchiv, Bild 146-1970-083-42\/CC-BY-SA<\/p>\n

\"What<\/p>\n

What did the Nazis hope to gain? – In line with their racist ideology, the Nazis wanted to intimidate Jews into voluntarily leaving Germany. To this end, Jews were often paraded through the streets and humiliated, as seen in this image. Their persecutors were also motivated by economic interests. Jews fleeing the Third Reich were charged extortionate “emigration levies,” and their property was often confiscated.gemeinfrei<\/p>\n

\"Did<\/p>\n

Did the pogrom serve the Nazis’ purpose? – After the widespread violence German Jews were under no illusions about Nazi intentions, and those who could left the country. But such naked aggression played badly in the foreign press and offended many Germans’ desire for order. Later, further anti-Jewish measures took more bureaucratic forms, such as the requirement that Jews wear a visible yellow Star of David stitched to their clothing.gemeinfrei<\/p>\n

\"What<\/p>\n

What was the immediate aftermath? – After the pogroms, the Nazi leadership instituted a whole raft of anti-Jewish measures, including a levy to help pay for the damage of November 9-10, 1938. The second-most powerful man in the Third Reich at the time, Hermann G\u00f6ring, famously remarked: “I would not want to be a Jew in Germany.”AP<\/p>\n

\"What<\/p>\n

What is Kristallnacht’s place in history? – In 1938, the beginning of what became known as the Holocaust was still two years away. But there is an obvious line of continuity from the pogrom to the mass murder of European Jews, in which the Nazi leadership would continue to develop and intensify their anti-Semitic hatred. In the words of one contemporary historian, the pogrom was a “prelude to genocide.”Imago<\/p>\n

‘Workers and soldiers, be aware the historical significance of this day’<\/p>\n

On November 9, 1918, Philipp Scheidemann, a Social Democrat politician later the chancellor of the Weimar Republic, proclaimed an end to the monarchy of Kaiser Wilhelm II and the beginning of a new democracy in a speech from a balcony of the Reichstag in Berlin.<\/p>\n

“Workers and soldiers, be aware of the historical significance of this day,” Scheidemann said. “Something unprecedented has happened. We have a great and immense task ahead of us. Everything for the people, everything through the people! Nothing must happen that would bring dishonor to the workers’ movement. Be united, loyal, and dutiful! The old and rotten, the monarchy, has collapsed. Long live the new, long live the German Republic.”<\/p>\n

\""We<\/p>\n

“We have a great and immense task ahead of us,” said Scheidemann, pictured in 1919dpa\/picture-alliance<\/p>\n

Hitler’s failed coup<\/p>\n

The young democracy in Germany had a difficult beginning. Both left- and right-wingers wanted to eliminate it immediately. And on November 9, 1923, the Nazis marched on Munich’s Feldherrnhalle led by Adolf Hitler, who would take power 10 years later and bring about World War II.<\/p>\n

All Jewish people in Germany would be deprived of their rights. From 1942 onward Hitler and the Nazis would systematically exterminate them.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

A Nazi march was held on November 9, 1938, to mark the 15th anniversary of the coupScherl\/SZ Photo\/picture alliance<\/p>\n

The November Pogroms<\/p>\n

On November 9, 1938, Nazis and antisemitic mobs set synagogues on fire and plundered Jewish-owned businesses. About 100 Jews people were murdered in the pogrom cynically called Kristallnacht<\/a>, “Night of Broken Glass.” The attacks were a precursor<\/a> to the Holocaust<\/a>, in which 6 million Jews were murdered throughout Europe.<\/p>\n

\"Antisemitic<\/p>\n

Antisemitic attacks destroyed thousands of Jewish businesses on November 9 and 10KEYSTONE\/picture alliance<\/p>\n

Berlin Wall falls<\/p>\n

The fall of the Berlin Wall<\/a> brought an end to the second dictatorship on German soil: the German Democratic Republic (GDR). People stormed the border crossings in divided Berlin. The jubilation was, in the truest sense of the word, borderless. November 9, 1989, was a day of absolute joy in Germany.<\/p>\n

\"East<\/p>\n

East and West Berlin turned out to celebrate the toppling of the wall overnight in 1989Peter Kneffel\/dpa\/picture alliance<\/p>\n

This article was originally written in German.While you’re here: Every Tuesday, DW editors round up what is happening in German politics and society. You can sign up here for the weekly email newsletter, Berlin Briefing.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The date on which the monarchy fell in 1918, Adolf Hitler staged his failed coup attempt in 1923,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":558808,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5310],"tags":[13861,178313,2000,299,178314,1824,178312,178315,178316,178311],"class_list":{"0":"post-558807","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-germany","8":"tag-adolf-hitler","9":"tag-ernst-vom-rath","10":"tag-eu","11":"tag-europe","12":"tag-german-jews","13":"tag-germany","14":"tag-herschel-grynszpan","15":"tag-philipp-scheidemann","16":"tag-street-violence","17":"tag-the-nazis"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115518341157267186","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/558807","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=558807"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/558807\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/558808"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=558807"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=558807"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=558807"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}