Reichskristallnacht : Ursachen und Verlauf des antisemitischen Pogroms vom November 1938

The pogrom in November 1938 was not due to increasing antisemitism in the German population but to a well-organized plan arranged by the Nazi regime in order to demonstrate power and create a radical political atmosphere. The mobilization of SA members from all sections of the party for the pogrom was partly meant to overcome internal conflicts. The perpetrators acted under the rules of group dynamics rather than for antisemitic motives. Children and youth groups were used for tumultuous incitement. Jewish property was looted in homes, shops, and synagogues, which were then set on fire. The arrests of Jewish men varied in different places. Sometimes they were sent immediately to concentration camps, while others were kept in local prisons, where they were tortured. Asserts that the population was mostly opposed to these actions, and some even extended help to their Jewish neighbors. For official purposes, the Nazi regime and Hitler presented the "Kristallnacht" pogrom as an event organized by some zealous leaders. Slight Revision of the author's thesis (doctoral)--Ruhr-Universität Bochum, 1989. 371 pages ; 21 cm.