History is Beginning to Repeat Itself: Kristallnacht (The Night of Broken Glass)

Kristallnacht (German pronunciation), also referred to as the Night of Broken Glass, was a pogrom (a series of coordinated attacks) against Jews throughout Nazi Germany and Austria on November 9-10, 1938. German authorities looked on without intervening. The name Kristallnacht comes from the shards of broken glass that littered the streets after Jewish-owned stores, buildings, and synagogues had their windows smashed.

At least 91 Jews were killed in the attacks, and 30,000 were arrested and incarcerated in concentration camps. Jewish homes, hospitals, and schools were ransacked, as the attackers demolished buildings with sledgehammers. Over 1,000 synagogues were burned (95 in Vienna alone) and over 7,000 Jewish businesses destroyed or damaged.

The attacks were prompted as a result of the assassination of a German diplomat by a German-born Polish Jew. Kristallnacht was followed by additional economic and political persecution of Jews, and is viewed as the beginning of the the Holocaust.

History seems to be following the same path today that led up to the Holocaust. Just within this year, we saw these anti-semitic issues arise:

• Presbyterian Church USA considered banning the word "Israel" from prayers (June 14-21, 2014)

• Shoppers use App to Boycott israel in grocery store aisles (April, 2014)

• National Council of the American Studies Association (ASA), announced an academic boycott of israel (December 4, 2013)

• More than 650 anthropologists signed a petition which calls for a boycott of all events, conferences, journals and projects with israeli academic institutions (October, 2014)

• Unit Arab Emirates, a partner of American Airlines, has removed Israel from its flight map and refuses to transport Israelis (March 2014)

Watch the video and look for similiarities in what is going on around the world today that very well could be leading up to another Kristallnacht and launch another Holocaust.