In 'law and order' loving Germany, the participation of the police forces in violent atacks on the nation's Jewish citizens signaled the complete deligitimization of the Jews that had taken place within just five years of the election of the Nazi party to power.
The Kristallnacht Pogrom which took place in Germany and Austria between November 9-10 in 1938 saw the state police organizations either ordered not to interfere, or sometimes to actively participate in large scale physical attacks against Jewish citizens.
Moreover, on the day following the attacks police forces made mass arrests of Jews. A quarter of Germany's Jewish men were sent to concentration camps, where they were held for several months, and where a thousand Jewish citizens died.
The Gestapo, the secret service branch of the German national police force, was a key part of the events that unfolded.
The following document is a secret telex sent by Gestapo chief Heinrich Müller to all Gestapo offices, instructing them on how to manage the “Night of Broken Glass” and what priority targets to go for.
Telex from Berlin, transmitted 9 November (1938), at 11:55 p.m.
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- Secret -
1) Actions against Jews, especially against their synagogues, will take place throughout the Reich shortly. They are not to be interfered with; however, liaison is to be effected with the uniformed police to ensure that looting and other significant excesses are suppressed.
2) So far as important archive material exists in synagogues this is to be secured by immediate measures.
3) Preparations are to be made for the arrest of about 20,000 to 30,000 Jews in the Reich. Above all well-to-do Jews are to be selected. Detailed instructions will follow in the course of this night.
4) Should Jews in possession of weapons be encountered in the course of the action, the sharpest measures are to be taken. Armed SS units as well as general SS can be enlisted for all actions. Control of the actions is to be secured in every case through the Gestapo. Looting, larceny etc. is to be prevented in all cases. For securing material, contact is to be established immediately with the responsible SD (leadership).
Addendum for Stapo Cologne: In the Cologne synagogue there is especially important material. This is to be secured by the quickest measures in conjunction with SD.
On a modern note:
Torah damaged during Kristallnacht returned to Cologne synagogue (2007)
