29. Night of Broken Glass: Nazi Purges Part II

On November 7th, 1938, Ernst vom Rath, a Nazi Party member and German Foreign Office diplomat was assassinated by a 17 year old Polish-German Jew named Herschel Grynspan. Grynspan entered the German embassy in Paris on the morning of November 7th and requested to speak with an embassy official claiming to have an important document to deliver. It was vom Rath, a secretary to the German ambassador that received Grynspan. When the 29 year old vom Rath stood face to face with the 17 year old, he asked, “Did you have an important document to give me?” Grynspan drew a handgun from his jacket and responded, “You are a filthy Boche and here, in the name of 12,000 persecuted Jews, is your document!”, then fired five rounds. Vom Rath was struck twice and mortally wounded. The response of the Nazi party, the encouragement of the people’s retaliation, and the order for authorities to stand down were likely beyond the mental imaginings of 17-year-old Herschel Grynspan when he fired five rounds from his pistol and mortally wounded vom Rath. So, too, was the young man likely unaware of the havoc his actions and vom Rath’s death would have on all Germany. You can find the Hardtack socials, website, and Patreon via ⁠⁠linktree⁠⁠. If you have any feedback on Hardtack episodes or suggestions for future episodes, please send an email to [email protected] Don't forget to rate and subscribe! Make your Own Hardtack! Hardtack Recipe (Survival Bread) - ⁠⁠Bread Dad ⁠ Sources: Kristallnacht: Prelude to Destruction by Sir Martin Gilbert The Official Website of Sir Martin Gilbert The official website of Sir Martin Gilbert - 20th Century British Historian and the official biographer of Sir Winston Churchill - Sir Martin Gilbert The Trials of Herschel Grynszpan: Anti-Jewish Policy and German Propaganda, 1938-1942 https://www-jstor-org.ezproxy.slq.qld.gov.au/stable/27668588?seq=2 Wuldor Razors https://a.co/d/elapDPk