On November 9 in 1938, a large scale attack on Jews took place in Germany, in retaliation for the murder of a staff member of the German embassy in Paris, by a 17-year-old Jew. The night became known as Kristallnacht, or “The Night of Broken Glass. 

  
The attacks went on into the next day. The public joined in voluntarily. Stores were smashed and looted, synagogues were burned and Jews were beaten and murdered. After this night, the US recalled its ambassador permanently. 

A few days later th Nazis reported 7,500 businesses destroyed, 267 synagogues burned and 91 Jews killed. Some say the losses were much higher. Some 30,000 Jews were sent to concentration camps. 

Decrees were made barring Jews from public transportation, schools and hospitals. Burned synagogues were turned into parking lots. It was determined that all insurance proceeds from the damage would be confiscated by the state. This, of course,’provided military resources to prepare for war and the conquest of Europe.