When faced with the utter inhumanity of the Holocaust, the first question that many people ask is: "How?" There were many factors that contributed to allowing Adolf Hitler implement his Final Solution. Historians continue to debate these today. Click below for some of the basic arguments.
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Activity: Explaining Kristallnacht
Read below a brief description of Kristallnacht, one of the major events before the implementation of the Final Solution. After reading the event complete the drag-and-drop that shows how each of the above factors might have contributed to Kristallnacht.
On November 9-10, 1938, a wave of violence erupted throughout Germany against the Jewish people. Synagogues, homes, and Jewish-owned businesses were attacked in a series of carefully organized riots. Many Jews were rounded up and incarcerated. After the event, the Nazi government blamed the Jews for causing the riots and collectively fined the German Jewish population the equivalent of $400 million. The event became known as Kristallnacht, or the "Night of Broken Glass," in reference to the broken windows of Jewish businesses.