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| Marching Nazis |
Seventy-four
years ago tonight, the German Nazi party took their first steps toward
instigating the beginning of what was to become the Holocaust.
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| SS Raid |
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| Ransacked Jewish Home |
On
November 9, 1938, the SS, SA storm troopers, and Hitler Youth took to the
streets in Germany and Austria, destroying synagogues, desecrating Jewish
cemeteries, and damaging Jewish homes and businesses.
The
pogrom (a state organized and executed act of terror) was triggered by the assignation of German
diplomat Ernst vom Rath by Herschel Grynszpan.
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| Polish Jews Being Expelled |
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| Hershel Grynszpan |
Grynszpan,
a 17-year-old Polish Jew living in France, was trying to draw the world’s
attention to the Nazi’s treatment of over 12,000 Polish-born Jews. On October 28, 1938, Hitler had ordered
them expelled from Germany within 24 hours. Grynszpan’s family was part of the expulsion.
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| German Embassy |
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| Ernst vom Rath |
After
Grynszpan received a postcard from his sister, detailing their flight from
Germany, and Poland’s refusal to allow them entry, he purchased a gun. On the morning of November 7, Grynszpan
went to the Germany Embassy in Paris, and requested to see a
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| Herschel Grynszpan in Custody |
German
official. When he was ushered into
the office of Ernst vom Rath, Grynszpan shot him three times. Grynszpan then waited for the French
police to arrive and arrest him. In his pocket he carried a postcard he had
written to his parents. It read, “May
God forgive me… I must protest so that the whole world hears my protest, and
that I will do.” *
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| Joseph Goebbels |
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| Broken Shop Windows |
On
November 9, 1938, vom Rath died of his wounds. Nazi Propaganda Minister Joseph
Goebbels saw an opportunity to act against Jewish citizens. Goebbels issued
instructions letting party leaders know that they could organize “spontaneous
demonstrations” against the Jews in retaliation to vom Rath’s death.
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| Damaged Storefront |
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| Hitler Youth |
These
riots, led by storm troopers, the SS, German police, and Hitler Youth, began
about 10:30 P.M. By morning, Nazi officials reported 91 Jews were killed, 1,000 Jews had been arrested, and
25,000 Jewish men - one third of all Jewish men in Germany - had been rounded up
and sent to concentration camps, where, according to Nazi figures, more than
1,000 of them later died.
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| Marched Through Town |
The
actual number of those killed is unknown. Some reports state the number could
have been close to 1,000. It was reported that 30,000 Jewish men, between the
ages of 16 and 60, were arrested and taken to concentration camps. Over 2,000 died there within the next
three months.
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| Map of Synagogues Destroyed |
Official
Nazi damage figures released the next day showed that 191 synagogues were demolished,
and 815 Jewish businesses were destroyed.
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| Synagogue Ablaze |
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| Destroyed Synagogue |
Actual
figures showed that 276 synagogues were set on fire that night, and over 1,670
synagogues were damaged or destroyed. Over 7,500 Jewish businesses and homes
were obliterated. In Vienna,
Austria, 95 synagogues or houses of prayer were destroyed.
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| Burning Synagogue |
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| Desecrated Cemetery |
An
unknown number of Jewish cemeteries were desecrated and destroyed, most located
next to synagogues. Among those
was Schmieheim Cemetery in West Baden, the largest Jewish cemetery in Germany. According to the United States Consul
in Leipzig, the violence and vandalism reigned on the sacred sites and
cemeteries were described as “approaching the ghoulish.” Tombstones were damaged and
uprooted. Graves were dug up and
violated.
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| Looted and Damaged Shop |
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| 50 Million Reichmark |
On
November 12, the Jewish community was fined 1 billion reichmarks for the
damages incurred. In addition, another 4 million marks was demanded to repair
shop windows.
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| German Citizens Hurry Past |
Although
Nazi officials thought that German citizens would take part in the
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| Jews Marched to Camps |
destruction
of Jewish synagogues, homes and businesses on November 9th, few did. Citizens seemed to find it prudent to
stand aside, or stay home with their windows closed and doors locked. But Nazi
officials did realize that 60-million Germans had shown personal fear, or
indifference to the plight of the Jews on the night of the pogrom. Information worth knowing…
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| Hermann Goring |
On
November 12, Hermann Göring spoke at a formal government meeting, stating, “I
implore competent agencies to take all measures for the elimination of the
Jew from the German
economy, and to submit them to me.”
The
Holocaust had begun.
~
Joy
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| Hershel Grynszpan |
*Herschel
Grynszpan was held by the French government until 1940 when the Vichy
government turned him over to the Nazis.
He spent time in several prisons and concentrations camps. Then, sometime after 1942, Grynszpan
vanished - without a trace.
(Indigent as defined by dictionary.com, “lacking food, clothing,
and other necessities of life because of poverty; needy; poor; impoverished.)
As
we approach December, the weather becomes colder. This means that many indigent people without adequate
shelter and lodging will face sever hardships, some even death. 
The
most common causes of indigent deaths are due to poor health or exposure to the
elements, especially in the winter.
Other causes include disease, drugs or alcohol, and violence.
If
the indigent person is homeless, the coroner’s office, or a local hospital may
conduct a search to try and locate family. Since the homeless usually carry
everything they own with them, many times a social worker’s name, or that of a
family member or friend may be found among their possessions. 
Other
forms pertaining to any government assistance, Veteran’s benefits, or Social
Security may help to identify the deceased and locate relatives. If there are no leads, an investigation
may research local missing persons to see if there is a match with the
deceased.
Depending
on where the person dies, an indigent may be transferred to a medical school
for research or dissection education, cremated, or given a basic burial in the
local Potter’s Field. 
The
Jefferson County Coroner’s Office is the sponsor of a program that provides
permanent markers for the indigent as a way to “acknowledge their time on
earth.” The program, known as “Be a Memory Maker,” raises money to purchase grave markers for the
indigent, mentally ill, disabled, or disenfranchised who die in the
community. A grave marker costs
around $300. To find out more
about the program, visit http://www.louisvilleky.gov/Coroner/SpecialPrograms.htm 
In
New York, the Hebrew Free Burial Association makes arrangements for indigent
and impoverished Jews in New York City to receive prompt, dignified funerals
and burials. The HFBA began in the
1880’s and is the largest free burial society outside of Israel. They have provided over 60,000 burials
since 1888. The HFBA owns two cemeteries on Staten Island: Mount Richmond
Cemetery and Silver Lake Cemetery.
As many as 300 people receive free burials each year in consecrated
Jewish earth. 
For
those who were lonely, and alone, at the time of death, these small acts of
compassion allow some dignity and respect to be paid to their memory.
