This photograph from the Leo Baeck Institute New York collection (F 13380) reveals the damage to a Jewish clothing shop in Magdeburg after the Kristallnacht pogrom on 9 November 1938. The shattered glass of the shop window stands as a stark symbol of the violence inflicted on Jewish businesses and the wider community that night. Locals are seen hurrying past the wrecked shopfront, a chilling reminder of the destruction that ravaged German Jewish life.
Kristallnacht, or the Night of Broken Glass, was a state-sanctioned wave of antisemitic violence across Germany and Austria, destroying more than 7,000 Jewish businesses, synagogues, and homes. This pogrom marked an abrupt and brutal shift from social and economic persecution to physical violence, foreshadowing the horrors of the Holocaust. In its aftermath, more than 30,000 Jewish men were arrested and sent to concentration camps. Photographs like this capture the rupture in a once-vibrant community and the ruthless intent behind these attacks.
This image freezes a moment of destruction and loss, underscoring the vital importance of preserving these histories.
To mark the anniversary of the November pogrom, the Leo Baeck Institute London offers a recording of a 2013 lecture exploring the events of the pogrom in depth. Introduced by Sir Nicholas Montagu, the talks include Raphael Gross’s examination of Herschel Grynszpan and the varied reactions to his assassination of a German diplomat, the event used by the Nazis as a pretext for Kristallnacht. Professor Peter Pulzer traces the escalation of Nazi policies from discrimination to the public humiliation and isolation of Jews.
For access to the full recorded lecture and programme, visit: https://www.lbilondon.ac.uk/events/special-events/kristallnacht-remembr…
