Kristallnacht anniversary and collective blame against Jews, Digi Mart USA News: Why is it so easy for us to develop negative attitudes toward Jews when we are upset about actions taken by the Israeli government? That question is raised in a Norwegian newspaper debate article published on the anniversary of the November pogroms.
The night of November 9 to 10, 1938 saw thousands of Jewish businesses and homes vandalized across Germany, synagogues burned, and around 30,000 Jewish men arrested and sent to concentration camps. The events are known as the November pogroms, and at least 91 people were killed.
Propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels called the mass of broken glass in the streets “crystal,” and the night was named “Kristallnacht.”
The pogroms were organized by the National Socialist regime. The pretext was the killing of German diplomat Ernst Eduard vom Rath in Paris.
The assassin was Herschel Grynszpan, a young Polish Jew born in Germany. The Nazi regime used the occasion to escalate violence and repression against Jews in Germany.
On October 22, 1942, a Norwegian border police constable was shot while checking passengers on a train to Halden. Although a border guide had fired the shot, Jews fleeing to Sweden were blamed, and Jews in Norway were held collectively responsible.
The National Socialist authorities used this as a pretext to carry out plans to confiscate the property of Jews in Norway and arrest all Jewish men over the age of 15.
Attributing collective guilt to Jews for actions committed by individual Jews is one of the classic themes of antisemitism. In our cultural heritage, it dates back to the claim that Jews collectively bore responsibility for the crucifixion of Christ.
Often it has not even been necessary for anyone to have done anything wrong. Jews have been blamed for plague, hardship, war and other misery.
Today we see the same pattern when Jews around the world are blamed for killings and abuses in Gaza and the West Bank. This is reflected in slogans such as “No Zionists in our streets!” and in increasing negative attitudes toward Jews that can be documented through surveys by the HL Center.
On the anniversary of Kristallnacht, the author argues there is reason to pause. Why is it so easy for us to develop negative attitudes toward Jews when we are upset about actions taken by Israeli authorities?
Part of the explanation is likely our general tendency to identify individuals with the collective they belong to, as when Americans are attributed traits because of what U.S. President Donald Trump does.
However, the November pogroms remind us that Jews throughout history have been especially vulnerable to this, often with catastrophic consequences. This is worth keeping in mind when looking at the situation of Jews in Norway following the tragic events triggered on October 7, 2023.
