Kristallnacht

[krees-tahl-nahkht]

noun

1. a Nazi pogrom throughout Germany and Austria on the night of November 9–10, 1938, during which Jews were killed and their property destroyed.

Word History and Origins

Origin of Kristallnacht¹

< German Kristall crystal + Nacht night

Example Sentences

Kristallnacht happened two years later, inaugurating the Nazi regime’s organized persecution of Jewish people, which culminated in the Holocaust.

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It is now referred to as the November Pogrom, formerly known as Kristallnacht.

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He and his family left on his birthday, Aug. 5, 1938, just three months before the Nazis ransacked Jewish homes as part of Kristallnacht.

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These events coincided with the anniversary of the Nazi pogroms on Jews in 1938, also known as Kristallnacht.

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For many, it was especially shocking coming on the eve of commemorations marking Kristallnacht, the 1938 Nazi pogroms against German Jews.

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