What images does the word Kristallnacht, or its English translation, “night of broken glass,” bring to mind? What words and phrases do the three narrators of the selection—Alfons, Helen, and the author—use that help you form mental pictures of the events happening across Germany on the night of November 9, 1938? Use specific details from the excerpt to support your response.
To understand the images and details associated with the "Kristallnacht" or "night of broken glass," we can look at the perspectives of the three narrators in the excerpt. Let's analyze the specific details they provide:
1. Alfons:
- Alfons describes store windows being shattered: "Glass everywhere! Broken glass from the store windows."
- He mentions fires: "The stores were on fire."
- He talks about the streets being chaotic: "People pummeled each other in the streets."
2. Helen:
- Helen mentions the destruction of synagogues: "Every synagogue. Every one we passed had been set on fire. Flames were shooting out of the roofs, the windows, crackling and snapping."
- She refers to the sound of chaos: "I heard the sound of things crashing to the floor, glass breaking."
- She describes the heavy smoke in the air: "Ashes and burning bits of things came drifting down... the air filled with smoke."
3. The author:
- The author uses vivid language to describe the destruction: "A maelstrom of flying glass and bricks, of stores set afire, of flames licking at the surrounding houses."
- The author references the violent actions of the attackers: "Some Nazis were wearing brass knuckles. Some carried big chunks of metal. There were tire irons, wooden boards."
From these descriptions, we can form mental pictures of devastating images:
- Shattered glass strewn across the streets.
- Fires engulfing synagogues.
- Chaotic scenes with people fighting and vandalizing stores.
- Thick smoke and burning debris filling the air.
- The sound of breaking glass and crashing objects.
- The attackers using weapons like brass knuckles and tire irons.
These specific details provided by the narrators help to create a visual understanding of the events that unfolded on the night of Kristallnacht, showing the widespread destruction, violence, and antisemitic attacks that occurred across Germany on November 9, 1938.