Bidspirit auction | Pogrom: 10 November 1938 -

Pogrom: 10 November 1938 - A Detailed Account, Based on Official German Documents, of the Events of Kristallnacht and the Days Preceding It. London, 1957 - First edition - ”Signs bearing the following text are to be affixed to destroyed Jewish shops, synagogues, etc.: 'Revenge for the Murder of vom Rath. Death to International Jewry...”. Pogrom: 10 November 1938 - A comprehensive scholarly study, based on classified documents, of the events of the Kristallnacht pogrom, by the British-Jewish historian Lionel Kochan. Andre Deutsch Publishers. London, 1957 - First edition. Rare. On November 7, 1938, a young Jewish man named Herschel Grynszpan shot the German diplomat Ernst vom Rath, secretary of the German Embassy in Paris. Two days later, vom Rath died. The German retaliation followed swiftly in the form of a mass assault on the Jews of Germany, Austria, and the Sudetenland. Hundreds of synagogues were set on fire, approximately 30,000 Jews were sent to the Dachau, Buchenwald, and Sachsenhausen concentration camps, and Jewish-owned shops, homes, and apartments were looted. It was the first mass attack of its kind in Western Europe in centuries. The Jews of Germany were transformed from a marginalized minority into a group denied the very right to exist. Drawing upon numerous unique documents published here for the first time, Lionel Kochan presents the first objective, factual account of the three tense days preceding the pogrom and of the pogrom itself. He documents the disagreements within the highest ranks of the Nazi leadership over how the pogrom should be carried out, describes the manifestations of antisemitism that preceded the violence, as the German press created an atmosphere of crisis and tension surrounding the Jewish minority, and shows how Goebbels's Ministry of Propaganda issued detailed instructions to the German press to report the shooting of vom Rath ”on the largest possible scale. The news must completely dominate the front page.” Kochan records in detail the atrocities committed against the Jews on the basis of explicit orders preserved in the documents of Nazi commanders. Contrary to the commonly held belief that the violent outbreaks were spontaneous, he demonstrates how specific operational orders were issued by commanders in the field and how every aspect had been meticulously planned. Thus, for example, Brigade Commander Lake received the following order from his superior: ”Blow up or set fire immediately to all Jewish synagogues within the brigade area. Neighboring houses occupied by Aryans are not to be damaged.” The book also documents how Nordsee telephoned his chief of staff, Rompfel, who recorded the instructions as follows: ”All Jewish shops are to be destroyed immediately by uniformed S.A. men. After the destruction, S.A. guards are to be posted to ensure that no valuables are removed. The leaders of the S.A. units are responsible for securing all valuables, including cash. The press is to be brought in. Jewish synagogues are to be set on fire immediately, and Jewish symbols are to be removed. The fire brigade is not to intervene. Only the homes of Aryan Germans are to be protected by the fire brigade. Adjacent Jewish houses are also to be protected by the fire brigade, although the Jews must leave, since Aryans will move into them in the coming days... All Jews are to be disarmed. If anyone offers resistance, they are to be shot. Signs bearing the following text are to be affixed to destroyed Jewish shops, synagogues, etc.: 'Revenge for the murder of vom Rath. Death to International Jewry...״. Kochan further presents, the testimonies of Jews who experienced the pogrom firsthand. Published here in full, these accounts document the murders and atrocities committed by the Nazis in Jewish hospitals, the devastation and destruction of synagogues, the violent invasions of Jewish homes, the deportation of Jews to concentration camps and the conditions they endured there, and more. These harrowing passages are difficult to read, as they depict the atrocities perpetrated against the Jewish people. This is one of the earliest comprehensive studies on Kristallnacht published in English. During the 1950s, Holocaust scholarship was still in its infancy, and Kochan was among the first historians to analyze the event not as a spontaneous outburst of violence, as was commonly believed, but as a deliberate and decisive turning point in the anti-Jewish policy of the Third Reich—the transition from legal and economic persecution to physical violence and mass imprisonment in concentration camps. Lionel Kochan (1922-2005) was a distinguished historian, scholar, and author. He served, among other positions, as a Research Fellow at the University of Cambridge and later as Professor of Jewish History at the University of Warwick. Rare. Only a few records in the WorldCat global library catalog. 159 pages. A fine copy in the original hardcover binding with the original dust jacket.