The holocaust illustrates the consequences of racism, prejudice and stereotyping on a

society. It forces us to examine the responsibility of citizenship and confront the powerful

ramifications of indifference and inaction.

- Tim Holden

It is remembered as the “Night of Broken Glass” or “Kristallnacht” in German. That 9th November of 1938 when Jewish community in Reich was exposed to a wave of violence at the hand of the Germans. This brutality continued for another day. While the government’s propaganda machine claimed that the attacks were unplanned, over 250 synagogues were burned and 7000 Jewish businesses were destroyed. The attacks were triggered by the assassination of German official by a Jewish teenager. This was followed by mass arrest of Jews. Their crime was believing in a religion. Curfews were imposed on Jewish community and their mobility was greatly impaired. This fed into the rage which propelled the Holocaust.

Incidents like this remind us how easily hate, which has been brewed and distilled overtime, escalates into something as heinous and violet as the great holocaust. It reveals the callous ways in which institutions, labels and cultural artifacts can be used as engines of inhumanity.