Jeremy Rosen
Kristallnacht
Summary
Starting with the Nazi assault on its Jewish population of Germany on November 9, 1938, known as Kristallnacht, Jeremy Rosen discusses the history of anti-Semitism, highlighting its persistence throughout history. He explores how religious, cultural, and nationalist factors contributed to the persecution of Jews in various regions.
Jeremy Rosen
Manchester-born Jeremy Rosen was educated at Cambridge University England and Mir Yeshiva in Jerusalem. He has practiced as an orthodox rabbi, as principal of Carmel College in the UK, and as professor at the Faculty for Comparative Religion in Antwerp, Belgium. He has written and lectured extensively in the UK and the US, where he now resides and was the rabbi of the Persian-Jewish community in Manhattan.
By that time, the Nazis had taken total control. They had gotten rid of any opposition. And the fact of the matter is the Nazis encouraged everybody to participate. And most people did participate because they stood to benefit from Jewish property, from looting, from getting rid of them. And unfortunately there was massive support in Germany and Austria from everybody who was sort of called upon.
The hatred was being whipped up long before that time. People thought Germany lost WWI because the Jews had undermined them, that the Jews were controlling everything, controlling finance, and were sucking the state dry. Many prominent Jews initially supported the Nazis because they were more frightened of the Communists.