1938. godine, 9. i 10. studenog, SS paravojne snage Nacional-socijalističke Njemačke radničke stranke – NDSAP (nacisti), zajedno sa civilnim stanovništvom, počele su napade na sinagoge, trgovine, kuće i zgrade u vlasništvu Židova. Zbog tog je razloga 9. studeni proglašen Međunarodnim danom borbe protiv fašizma i antisemitizma. Proglasila ga je europska mreža nevladinih organizacija „Ujedinjeni za interkulturalne akcije“ 1995. godine. Ovaj „pogrom“ bio je početak holokausta, a poznat je pod nazivom Kristallnacht (što prevodimo kao Kristalna noć) zbog razbijenog stakla koje je bilo posvuda. Nakon Kristalne noći, sve do 1945., 6 milijuna Židova i drugih „neprijatelja njemačke države“ bilo je ubijeno. Oni na koje se gledalo kao na neprijatelje Njemačke čak nisu ni morali imati njemačko državljanstvo. Njegov je primarni cilj bio riješiti se svih Židova, Slavena ili Roma koji su živjeli u Njemačkoj, u okupiranim dijelovima ili u bilo kojoj zemlji koja je bila u savezu s Hitlerom. Drugi Hitlerov cilj bio je stvoriti „superiornu njemačku arijevsku rasu“ i postići svoj san o pročišćavanju njemačke rase. Kako bi to i postigao, pripadnike LGBT+ zajednice, pripadnike vjerskih i drugih manjina i ljude s mentalnim ili fizičkim teškoćama dao je ubiti. Svakog tko se bilo čemu protivio označio je kao „neprijatelja njemačke države“, a ljudima lijepio etikete „političkih zločinaca“. Biti proglašen „neprijateljem države“ bio je dovoljan razlog da se tu osobu ubije. Romi su također bili na meti. Mnogo je Roma ubijeno u Europi, a etničko čišćenje Roma poznato je pod nazivom Porajmos. Njemačka vlast je na suđenju u Nurnbergu priznala genocid nad Židovima, a preživjelim Židovima njemačke su vlasti platile odštetu nakon što je Njemačka ponovno uspostavljena. Pavee Point centar za Putnike i Rome opisao je situaciju na sljedeći način:

„Genocid nad Romima nije formalno priznat sve do 1982. godine. Sve do tada je Vlada Zapadne Njemačke poricala činjenicu da su Romi bili žrtvama rasnih progona. Umjesto toga, ustrajalo se na tvrdnji da su Romi bili zatočeni zbog svoje nemogućnosti uklapanja u društvo i sklonosti kriminalu, čime se omogućilo vladi da izbjegne odgovornost za rasnu diskriminaciju i plaćanje odštete preživjelima.“

Kristalna noć je dokaz da ratni zločini, kao na primjer genocidi ili mučenja, ne dolaze od neukorijenjenog autoriteta, nego su ukorjenjivani u običnim ljudima, korak po korak, dan po dan. Nakon godina propagande antisemitizma mnogo je ljudi iz nacističke Njemačke bilo spremno napasti svakog koga se može povezati sa Židovima. Nisu svi sudjelovali u ovim zločinima mržnje, ali je većina ljudi u nacističkoj Njemačkoj dopustila te zločine tako što nisu rekli ništa protiv njih, ili su, još gore, potiho odobravali ove zločine. Uz pomoć običnih ljudi, „Pogrom“ se vrlo brzo pretvorio u sustavno istrebljenje Židova povijesno poznato pod imenom šoa (Shoah), holokaust. Ovaj nam dan pokazuje važnost borbe protiv zločina iz mržnje, nerazriješenih nasilnih djela, vlada koje ignoriraju one koji putem medija sustavno šire govor mržnje, vlada koje krive migrante za sve probleme u zemlji… Mržnja usmjerena protiv manjina može se lako pretvoriti u zlobne postupke prema njima; govor mržnje može dovesti do zločina iz mržnje.

Suvremena država Njemačka ulaže velike napore u to da nova generacija Nijemaca zapamti što se dogodilo tog dana, što je Njemačka učinila ili nije učinila. Danas je strogo zabranjeno poricanje holokausta, mržnja i uvrede temeljene na rasnoj, etničkoj, nacionalnoj ili religijskoj osnovi. Djecu se podučava o holokaustu i o tome što je Njemačka napravila. Suvremena Njemačka preuzela je odgovornost za sve što se dogodilo i pokušava se boriti protiv antisemitizma.

Nadamo se da ćemo jednog dana živjeti u svijetu bez genocida, pogroma, ili bilo kakve mržnje prema ljudima drugih religija, nacionalnosti, etničke pripadnosti, rase, spola, seksualnosti… U međuvremenu, trebali bismo se uvijek sjetiti i informirati druge o tome što se dogodilo u prošlosti kako bismo mogli spriječiti ponavljanje istih zločina u budućnosti. Kad govor mržnje preraste u zločine iz mržnje, a javnost pri tome ne reagira, to može dovesti do genocida i zločina iz mržnje počinjenih nad manjinama. Trebamo preuzeti kolektivnu odgovornost za zločine koji su počinjeni nad manjinama u našoj zemlji. Ono što je počelo kao jedna noć zločina iz mržnje pretvorilo se u milijune ljudi koji pate – Židovi, Romi, Slaveni, i mnogi drugi. Sjećajmo se i njegujmo sjećanje na sve one koji su poginuli u rukama nacističke Njemačke i njezinih saveznika.

 

 

 

 

In 1938, 9th and 10th of November, National Socialist German Workers' Party’s paramilitary forces, along with civilians started targeting and attacking synagogues, Jewish-owned stores, houses, buildings. So, 9th of November was marked to be remembered as the “International Day Against Fascism and Antisemitism” by European-wide network of NGOs UNITED for Intercultural Action in 1995, because of what happened in 1938. This “Pogrom” was the beginning of the holocaust, and it is known as Kristallnacht (translated as Crystal Night), due to all the broken glasses, everywhere. After Kristallnacht, until 1945, 6 million Jewish people and millions of additional “enemies of the German state” were murdered. To be seen as the enemy of the German state, one did not have to be a German citizen. Hitler’s first aim was to “get rid of” any Jew, Slav or Roma who lived in Germany, anywhere they occupied and in any country that allied with Hitler. Hitler’s other aim was to create a “superior German Aryan race” and to achieve his “dream”, he wanted to cleanse German race. To do so, LGBT+ people, people with mental and or physical disabilities and minorities from diverse religions were murdered. Also, apart from his “ideal citizens”, he marked anyone who he did not agree with as “the enemy of the German state”, labeling people as “political criminals”. Being the “enemy of state” was also a reason to be killed. Roma people were also targeted, a lot of Roma people in Europe were murdered, the ethnic cleansing toward Roma is known as the Porajmos. The genocide towards Jewish were acknowledged during Nuremberg trials and Jewish survivors were paid reparations by the German authorities after German state was reestablished, acknowledging the genocide. Pavee Point Traveller and Roma Centre described the situation this way:

“The genocide of Roma people wasn’t formally recognised until 1982. Until then, the West German government denied that Roma were subjects of racially motivated persecution. Instead, it was insisted that Roma were imprisoned for their ‘asocial’ and ‘criminal’ characteristics, allowing the government to avoid responsibility for racial discrimination and compensation for genocide.”

Kristallnacht is a prove that war crimes such as genocide or torture does not come from an unrooted authority, but it is rooted in common people, step by step, day by day. After years of Anti-Semitic propaganda, a lot of people from Nazi Germany was ready to attack anything that is associated with Jewish people. Not everyone participated in these hate crimes, but most people of Nazi Germany allowed by not saying anything against or even worse, silently approving the actions. With the support from common people, “Pogrom” easily turned into systematic annihilation of Jewish people by the hands of Nazi Germany historically knowns as Shoah, The Holocaust. This day shows the importance of fighting against hate crimes, unresolved violent acts, governments ignoring those who engage in systematic hate speech using media, governments blaming immigrants for problems in their countries… Hate against minorities can easily turn into actions with malicious intent; hate speech can lead to hate crimes.

Current state of Germany is putting an effort to make sure that new generation of Germans remember what happened during that day, what did German State do or did not. Now, denying The Holocaust, hatred and insult towards people based on race, ethnicity, nationality, or religion is strictly punished. Children are taught about The Holocaust and what did Germany do. Current German State is taking responsibility and trying to fight Anti-Semitism.

 

We are hoping that one day, we will live in a world without genocide, pogrom, or any kind of hatred towards other people’s religion, nationality, ethnicity, race, gender, sex… In the meantime, we should remember and inform others about what happened in the past to be able to refrain from taking the same steps in the future. When hate speech creates hate crime and public do not react to it, it can lead to genocide and hate crime towards minorities. We should take collective responsibility against crimes that are being committed against minorities in our countries. What started as one night of hate crime turned into millions suffering; Jewish people, Roma people, Slavs and all the others… We remember and cherish the memory of all those who died in the hands of Nazi Germany and their allies.