Hol
Well-known
(This blog by Paul Scharf brings out what we’re seeing as we are close to the second anniversary of what Israelis experienced October 7, 2023.)
When the Arab terrorist group Hamas entered Israel on October 7, the world was horrified. On that day, these terrorists kidnapped 200, killed 1,400, and wounded more than 4,500 Israelis. Innocent men, women, and children were slaughtered simply because they were Jewish.
The appalling attack brings to memory another terrible act of violence against the Jewish people that took place 85 years ago. On November 9–10, 1938, innocent Jewish Germans endured devastating physical and spiritual darkness much like the evil perpetrated against Israel today.
Kristallnacht was the defining moment regarding the Nazis’ approach to the Jewish people, effectively launching the Holocaust. The Third Reich officially established the full-blown persecution of those they would later distinguish with badges bearing the Star of David. Cultural prospects began to deteriorate immediately for the Jewish people, though so many of them had long known this land as their home.
The pretext for the event was the tragic decision of Herschel Grynszpan (a Polish Jewish teenager) to assassinate Ernst vom Rath (a German official) in Paris on November 7, 1938. Grynszpan’s evil act was a reaction against anti-Jewish policies impacting his own family. It was, of course, also foolish and played directly into the Nazis’ hands, giving them the opening they desired to institute an all-out assault on the Jewish people.
The scope of Kristallnacht almost wearies the imagination. Rampant violence erupted throughout Germany, as well as in Austria, Czechoslovakia, and beyond. Disguising it as an organic demonstration, the Hitler Youth and Nazi Storm Troopers elaborately engineered the brutal pogrom. It was a bloodbath.
The destruction was massive, as Jewish homes, businesses, and synagogues were mercilessly destroyed. Firefighters protected German properties while allowing conflagrations to blaze unhindered in Jewish-owned structures. The sensation of walking over the broken glass must have given them a perverted sense of satisfaction.
…
The civilized world has vowed for the past 85 years to never forget such tragedies as the Jewish people suffered. Yet, how many today know anything at all about this monumental event?
Could there be another Kristallnacht, even another Holocaust, before the Rapture of the church? We desperately desire to say no, but recent events, most notably the violence Hamas committed against innocent Israelis and pro-Palestinian protesters’ support for these actions, indicate otherwise.
May the Lord help us, by His grace, to carry the same burden for the Jewish people that our forefathers bore—even being willing, as they were, to risk our own comfort and worldly esteem.
www.foi.org
When the Arab terrorist group Hamas entered Israel on October 7, the world was horrified. On that day, these terrorists kidnapped 200, killed 1,400, and wounded more than 4,500 Israelis. Innocent men, women, and children were slaughtered simply because they were Jewish.
The appalling attack brings to memory another terrible act of violence against the Jewish people that took place 85 years ago. On November 9–10, 1938, innocent Jewish Germans endured devastating physical and spiritual darkness much like the evil perpetrated against Israel today.
Kristallnacht was the defining moment regarding the Nazis’ approach to the Jewish people, effectively launching the Holocaust. The Third Reich officially established the full-blown persecution of those they would later distinguish with badges bearing the Star of David. Cultural prospects began to deteriorate immediately for the Jewish people, though so many of them had long known this land as their home.
THE NIGHT OF SUFFERING
So what exactly was Kristallnacht? The word literally means “night of crystal” but has since taken on the fuller meaning “Night of Broken Glass.”The pretext for the event was the tragic decision of Herschel Grynszpan (a Polish Jewish teenager) to assassinate Ernst vom Rath (a German official) in Paris on November 7, 1938. Grynszpan’s evil act was a reaction against anti-Jewish policies impacting his own family. It was, of course, also foolish and played directly into the Nazis’ hands, giving them the opening they desired to institute an all-out assault on the Jewish people.
The scope of Kristallnacht almost wearies the imagination. Rampant violence erupted throughout Germany, as well as in Austria, Czechoslovakia, and beyond. Disguising it as an organic demonstration, the Hitler Youth and Nazi Storm Troopers elaborately engineered the brutal pogrom. It was a bloodbath.
The destruction was massive, as Jewish homes, businesses, and synagogues were mercilessly destroyed. Firefighters protected German properties while allowing conflagrations to blaze unhindered in Jewish-owned structures. The sensation of walking over the broken glass must have given them a perverted sense of satisfaction.
…
The civilized world has vowed for the past 85 years to never forget such tragedies as the Jewish people suffered. Yet, how many today know anything at all about this monumental event?
Could there be another Kristallnacht, even another Holocaust, before the Rapture of the church? We desperately desire to say no, but recent events, most notably the violence Hamas committed against innocent Israelis and pro-Palestinian protesters’ support for these actions, indicate otherwise.
May the Lord help us, by His grace, to carry the same burden for the Jewish people that our forefathers bore—even being willing, as they were, to risk our own comfort and worldly esteem.
Walking Over Broken Glass - The Friends of Israel Gospel Ministry
Kristallnacht was the defining moment regarding the Nazis’ approach to the Jewish people, effectively launching the Holocaust.
www.foi.org
