The assassination of Ernst vom Rath , Third Secretary of the German Embassy in Paris , by Herschel Grynszpan served as a pretext for a nationwide pogrom against Jews throughout Germany and Austria on the night of 9 – 10 November 1938 , colloquially known as Kristallnacht . In Laupheim , Jewish shops were vandalised and the synagogue was burnt to the ground . The fire-brigade was prevented by locals from extinguishing the fire . A number of Jewish inhabitants were arrested and transported to the town hall . From there , they were marched to the burning synagogue , escorted by members of the Nazi-party , where they had to listen to a diatribe by a SA-leader , after which they were forced to carry out physical exercises in front of the burning building during which several of them were physically assaulted and injured . Afterwards , some of them were released , whereas the more prominent Jews were transported to the concentration camp Dachau where 16 of them had been released by February 1939
Kristallnacht
Kristallnacht
History of the Jews in Laupheim