[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 156 (Monday, November 8, 1999)] [Extensions of Remarks] [Page E2296] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov] MARGRET HOFMANN REMINDS US OF THE MEANING OF KRISTALLNACHT ON THE ANNIVERSARY OF NOVEMBER 9, 1938 ______ HON. TOM LANTOS of california in the house of representatives Monday, November 8, 1999 Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, the Holocaust must be remembered and it must be studied to prevent the real danger of repeating the experience of that horrendous nightmare. As recent conflicts in the Great Lakes Region of Africa, Kosova, East-Timor as well as many other places remind us only too well that, although we are now enjoying an era of general prosperity and relative tranquility, many peoples around the world have not yet learned to live with one another in peace. In fact in the last decade, the practice of ethnic cleansing in Bosnia, Kosova and other areas of the former Yugoslavia has only served to remind us how little progress we have made in the past half century. In this context, Mr. Speaker, it is important that we take note of a tragic anniversary on November 9th--the first physical violence against Germany's Jews by Hitler's Nazi regime. That tragic occasion has been given the name ``Kristallnacht''--Crystal Night--because of the number of broken and smashed windows that accompanied the racist violence. Years of dehumanizing anti-Semitic propaganda in Germany, which was intensified after Hitler and the Nazi party came to power in 1933, prepared the way for Kristallnacht. The aggressive racist and anti- Semitic policies of the Third Reich saw their first expression in violence on November 9, 1938. Kristallnacht serves as a chilling reminder to what happens when an inflamed mob mentality overtakes a nation. Mr. Speaker, Margret Hofmann was an eye-witness to the tragedy of Kristallnacht. She has devoted years of her life to researching and studying the circumstances surrounding Kristallnacht and its consequences. I want to commend her for her work and insert some excerpts from her studies that make a valuable contribution to our understanding of how Kristallnacht was a first step in setting in motion the nightmare of the Holocaust. In 1933, the German-Jewish poet Heinrich Heine said, ``Where books are burnt, Man will soon burn human beings.'' That is the point of beginning of Margret Hofmann as she considers the background and meaning of Kristallnacht. Books were burnt in Germany on May 10, 1933, people soon followed. In between the burning of the books and the burning of the people, the Nazi government in Germany instigated the notorious Kristallnacht, the ``Night of Broken Glass.'' This was the event which set the stage for Hitler and other Nazi leaders to attempt to ``eliminate'' the Jews from Germany and eventually the whole world. It was the kind of event that proved ideal for Nazi purposes. On October 27, 1938, Germany expelled 15,000 non-German Jews. Although many had lived in Germany for decades and even raised families there, they were put on trains and sent to Poland. This was done by the German government without notifying the Polish government or without taking any steps to deal with the number of people. Enraged by this action, Herschel Grynszpan, whose parents had been summarily expelled from Germany, went to the German Embassy in France and shot a German diplomat, Ernst vom Rath. The occasion was tailor-made for the Nazi propaganda machine. The funeral of vom Rath in his hometown of Dusseldorf was grandiose. The Nazi government used the murder of vom Rath to give a false impression that German citizens spontaneously rose against the Jews. The night of the funeral, November 9, 1938, the Nazi government instructed the local police throughout Germany to ``allow'' the German people to rise up and ``strike back'' at the Jews. ``The people'' were Nazi ``Brown Shirts'' and German soldiers. The police were told to make sure non-Jews were not attacked and only Jewish buildings were destroyed. All over Germany synagogues and temples were burned, Jewish homes were ransacked, and a number of Jews were killed. By 1938 the Nazi propaganda machine had complete control of the press, and this pogrom was portrayed as a spontaneous uprising against the Jews. From that point on, the Nazi regime with increasing violence stripped Jews of their rights. They were forced out of the schools and universities, they were prohibited from practicing law, medicine, and other professions. Many were evicted from their homes and their belongings were confiscated. Before long Jews were required to wear a yellow star of David on their clothes so others could recognize they were Jewish. Many streets were declared off-limits to Jews. After years of anti-Semitic propaganda, many Germans succumbed to racism, prejudice, intolerance, and discrimination. This racial hatred, which was given its defining violent moment in Kristallnacht, led directly to the ``Final Solution,'' the fanatic Nazi drive to annihilate the Jewish race. For each piece of history, we must find a defining moment. For Nazi Germany, it was Kristallnacht. ____________________