Kristallnacht or the night of broken glass refers to Jewish pogroms that took place on November 9 and 10 in 1938 . This wave of violence took place in Germany , annexed Austria , and areas of Sudetenland that were occupied by Germany . These attacks took place against synagogues , Jewish-owned businesses , other Jewish establishments , and Jewish citizens in general . More than 100 Jewish people were killed , and thousands more were arrested during these attacks . This was also the start to organized Nazi attacks , and the mass incarceration of the Jews . There was no clear Instructions on how to execute the violence , so it caused the destroying of Jewish property and inhumane treatment of Jewish people . The rioters destroyed 267 synagogues throughout Germany , Austria , and Sudetenland . Firefighters were instructed to prevent the flames from spreading to nearby buildings , but not to put the fires out on the burning synagogues . There was also about 7,500 Jewish-owned establishments that were robbed and had their windows shattered . About 30,000 Jewish men were arrested and moved to prisons or concentration camps as well . What made things even worse is the fact that the German government placed full blame on the Jews for the destructions and imposed a fine of one billion Reichsmark on the Jewish community . The government also took away all insurance payouts that would go to the Jews whose businesses or homes got destroyed . This left the Jews responsible for the costs of all repairs
Kristallnacht
Kristallnacht
Anti-Jewish legislation in pre-war Nazi Germany