Reichskristallnacht anniversary - U.S. Politics Online: A Political Discussion Forum

Voland · #1 (**permalink**) 11-09-2006

I just wanted to remind you that tonight sixty-eight years ago the "Reichskristallnacht" took place. Jewish property was looted , many people killed or sent to concentration camps all over Nazi Germany.
I just came back from a memorial ceremony of the jewish community in Trier / Germany and will go to a discussion event with victims of the Nazi sterilisation program now...

Ash · #2 (**permalink**) 11-09-2006

Thanks Voland, let us hope the world never forgets.

proUSA · #3 (**permalink**) 11-09-2006

68 yrs ??????
Seems so long ago yet it was basically yesterday...
68 years isn't very long, yet the world has seemed to have matured much since then........ and I hope those day's never return nor people forget how humans can seem so civil, yet be barbarians at the same time.

Ash · #4 (**permalink**) 11-09-2006

Well stated, ProUSA, well stated indeed.

Malvolio · #5 (**permalink**) 11-09-2006

And 17 years ago today the Berlin Wall fell. On November 9 in 1989 East Germany opens the checkpoints in the Berlin Wall allowing its citizens to freely travel to West Germany. People start demolishing the Berlin Wall.

November 9 is a very important date in German history ... in good and in bad ways.

Ash · #6 (**permalink**) 11-09-2006

Wow, didn't even realize...

Oddly, Saturday is Armistice day as well, another important event in German history...

Malvolio · #7 (**permalink**) 11-09-2006

November 9 is sometimes called Schicksalstag (literally day of fate) of Germany:

Quote:

Schicksalstag (literally day of fate) is a label often used for 9 November due to the special importance of this day in German history. The term was occasionally used by historians and journalists since shortly after World War II, but its current widespread use started with the events of 1989 when virtually all German media picked up the term.

There are six major events in German history that are connected to Schicksalstag:

* 1848: After being arrested in the Vienna revolts, liberal leader Robert Blum is executed. The execution is often seen as a symbolic event for the ultimate failure of the Revolutions of 1848 in the German states.

* 1918: Monarchy in Germany ends when Emperor Wilhelm II is dethroned in the November Revolution. Philipp Scheidemann proclaims the German Republic

* 1923: The Beer Hall Putsch (November 8th and 9th) marks the emergence of the Nazi Party as an important player on Germany's political landscape.

* 1938: In the Kristallnacht, synagogues and Jewish property are burned and destroyed on a large scale. For many observers, it is the first hint of Nazi Germany's radical antisemitic policies.

* 1989: The fall of the Berlin Wall ends German separation and starts a series of events that ultimately lead to the German reunification.

* 2006: The new synagogue in the centre of Munich is officially opened. The opening, deliberately held on this historically charged date, the so-called Schicksalstag, marks symbolically the re-affirmation of Jewish life in Germany.

The establishment of the SS in 1925 is sometimes mentioned on the Schicksalstag as well.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schicksalstag

Ash · #8 (**permalink**) 11-09-2006

Holy crap!! I had no idea....

Malvolio · #9 (**permalink**) 11-09-2006

Quote:

Originally Posted by Danno

Holy crap!! I had no idea....

In fact many people wanted to make November 9 the national holiday of Germany, because it was the day the Berlin Wall fell, but it wasn't done, because of the other dates expecially November 9 1938.

BTW. On November 8 in 1939 there was an unsuccessful attempt to assassinate Adolf Hitler in Munich by Georg Elser. Since bad weather prevented a flight back to Berlin, Hitler decided to take the train, which meant finishing his speech earlier than expected. On 8 November, 1939, the bomb exploded at 21:20, exactly as Elser had planned, but Hitler had already left the room thirteen minutes earlier.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georg_Elser

Malvolio · #10 (**permalink**) 11-09-2006

"I wanted through my deed to prevent even greater bloodshed".

"In remembrance of Johann Georg Elser, who spent his youth in Königsbronn. On 8 November 1939, he wanted to thwart genocide with his assassination attempt on Hitler. On 9 April 1945, Johann Georg Elser was murdered at Dachau concentration camp."

Benjamin · #11 (**permalink**) 11-09-2006

I think we can be rest assured the world will never forget either event.

Ben

Malvolio · #12 (**permalink**) 11-09-2006

That's what happened today ...

Markus Wolf, Former East German spymaster dies at 83
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15634347/

Ash · #13 (**permalink**) 11-09-2006

Wow, very weird...

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