Kristallnacht - The Excuse Behind the Glass

Kristallnacht; like all things; has a beginning. We know the end result; the looting and burning of Jewish synagogues and businesses by ordinary Germans. These are the people who later said they knew nothing; kind of like Sgt. Schultz in the TV sitcom “Hogan’s Heroes”.

But the people doing the looting and burning that night were not in uniforms, and some may not have even really embraced the Nazi ideology. So how then did they wind up with bricks and bats in hand, smashing windows, looting and burning; beating people in the street who they merely suspected of being Jewish?

Many "reasons" have been manufactured over the years as to just what triggered Kristallnacht. Excuses have been invented to explain away the sudden outburst, which grew from something else which had been brewing. The following is the story of the actual incident which served as the spark which ignited Kristallnacht.

As it turns out, the incident; which served as that spark; took place only hours earlier, in Paris. It serves to remind us all that everything we do, no matter our intentions, must be undertaken with a look to the unintended consequences of our actions.

Kristallnacht was an abhorent display of hatred. Make no mistake about it, with or without this incident, the Holocaust which grew from it was going to happen anyway. This night was merely a taste of what was to come.

So, the following is not an excuse, nor an explanation. It's just the story of what happened in Paris which ignited the already noxious gas in the air that night back home in Germany.

Here then, is the story.

In 1938 the Germans began to deport Jews who were not born in Germany. “Germany for Germans!” was the cry. But there was a snag; the Jews being deported by the German government were refused entry back into Poland; which had not yet been conquered by the Nazi’s. That would be the next year. You have to marvel at the fact that the Polish people seemed to agree with Hitler’s stance against Jews, but when he conquered Poland one year later, he became evil incarnate.

Anyway, a Jewish man in Paris; Herschel Grynszpan, born of Polish-Jewish parents who lived in Germany; was outraged at the thought of his parent’s being involved in this game of political football. Moreover he decided to do something about it. His parents names were Riva and Sendel Grynszpan.

Taking himself to the German Embassy he asked to see someone; anyone. Now, that should have been a clue. But when you’re a member of the “master race” you don’t really think anyone is going to hurt you, so he was ushered in to see a low level attaché; a man named Ernst Vom Rath, who had spoken up in defense of the Jews before.  The young Jewish man living in Paris knew nothing about this German official and shot him dead.

Back in Germany the Brown shirts were grinning from ear to ear. Now the Jews weren’t only taking jobs away from the German people; they were killing them! They were killing them in foreign countries! They were killing even the moderate Germans who supported them! No longer could the people afford to wait. They must act now! They must send a clear and decisive message that the world would never forget.

Of course the irony is that; although the world would never forget; after the war was over you couldn't find a single person in that city who remembered where they were on the night of Kristallnacht. Like Sgt. Schultz; they knew nothing.

"The Immigrant" with Jeremy Renner and Joaquin Phoenix (2014)

When Ewa Cybulska; played by Marion Cotillard; arrives in America with her sister Magda ; played by Angela Sarafyan; she expects to be greeted by her family and become acquainted with her new homeland. Instead, her sister is denied entry due to tuberculosis and she is set to be deported because her relatives never showed up. This is the beginning if an ethereal film which takes you on Ewa’s journey in the America of the 1920’s and Prohibition.

Joaquin Phoenix plays Bruno Weiss, who first meets Ewa at Ellis Island. He spots her in the line of persons to be interred before deportation and offers to help her out. He slips the guard a bribe to let him take her back to Manhattan with her on the boat.

Ewa’s first days are marked by getting to know the other women who seem to all know Bruno. With her limited English Ewa is hard pressed to find out what these girls do and how they all know Bruno, who presents himself as a promoter of some sort. In reality he runs a string of prostitutes and intends to make Ewa one of them.

Bruno’s cousin Orlando; played by Jeremy Renner; is a magician at the nightclub which features “shows” performed by Bruno’s girls. When Bruno puts her onstage for the first time she is savaged by the audience with verbal abuse and erotic suggestions. As a devout Catholic she withdraws within herself to fend off the fear and confusion she feels; not to mention the betrayal by Bruno.

As Bruno draws Ewa more deeply into his world of degradation we see the effect it has upon him. He begins to love her without knowing how to express it. In reality; although she is the one being degraded, Bruno is the one who suffers for it. The irony is that he basically suffers the consequences of his own decisions. While she has her religion to fall back upon; he has nothing.

Meantime, Ewa forms a bond of sorts with Orlando which allows her to transcend the terrible things happening to her as she awaits a chance to get her sister out of quarantine and begin her life without Bruno.

This is a much nuanced film, with beautiful cinematography. It is a bit slow paced; perhaps deliberately so; to let the viewer feel the uncertainty of the events being experienced by Ewa. Real life is like that; things which are unfamiliar seem to drag by until you get used to the routine. The film is directed by James Gray from a script he co-write with Ric Menello .

"The Shadow Catcher" by Hipolito Acosta (2012)

This is a very exciting, and quickly read book. The author, Hipolito Acosta, is a 30 year veteran of the Immigration and Naturalization Service. His exploits are the stuff of which legends are made; and indeed; Mr. Acosta has become just that. This is a man who had himself smuggled from Mexico into the United States, not once, but twice. Each trip was an infiltration of the human trafficking rings which operate with impunity, using human beings as pawns in an effort to enrich themselves.

The author, himself an American of Latino descent, was raised in the Redford, Texas region, the son of migrant workers. During those years the United States and Mexico had an agreement in place, allowing for the Mexicans to come work in the United States for the harvesting of various crops, before they had to return home. This system was put into place during the last years of World War Two, when manpower on the home front was at a premium. The program was discontinued in 1964 due to abuses by both sides of the agreement. The Mexicans did not always go home, as required; while their American hosts were also making veritable slaves out of many. This, many believe, was the beginning of today’s illegal Immigration problem.

When Mr. Acosta turned 17, he joined the U.S. Navy, and shortly after his discharge he was married. He then joined the INS, in which he spent 3 decades working on the problem of illegal immigration. He has many stories from his time as an agent, including 2 trips in which he had himself smuggled into the United States in order to verify, and ultimately take down, several human trafficking operations, as well as a very well organized document forging operation.

Along the way Mr. Hipolito has encountered not only danger from the criminals he seeks to bring to justice, but also apathy from within the very agencies he is working for. Through all of the frustration, and danger, he keeps true to his course, managing to outwit those who would rather see him dead, as well as circumventing the forces from within the INS, which would keep him from doing his duty.

A compassionate man, he has also found the time to make a difference in several lives along the way, helping some of the most needy of the victims obtain residency in the United States.

His first trip as human cargo was from Juarez to Chicago, with a stop in a “safe” hose in Compton, California. The tensions, and indignities which people go through in order to reach America, by whatever means necessary, will give the reader a new appreciation of having been born here. There are very few countries which people try to sneak into, as opposed to ones in which they are trying to sneak out of.

A very informative book with great insights into the money, and human drama, which takes place each day as the INS fights a seemingly endless war. That this war is fought not only against the illegal immigrants and the cartels which serve them, but also against forces within our own government, make this a must read for those who wish to fully understand the depth of the illegal immigration problem.