Dear Reader,
For some unknown reason, I developed an intellectual itch that required immediate scratching. I was curious to know what noted events occurred in this eleventh month of the year whose name means nine. As I did a very cursory search, I came across tremendous amounts of historical information pertaining to November that I was unaware of. Probably the same is true for every month. But, then again, it made me painfully aware of how much I, and other people, do not know irrespective of how much we read. Further, it made me think of how we have been living in an era of information overload. As a retired scientist and educator who still reads a few scientific journals, I cannot help but realize how fast and how much new information is being published. It is exceedingly difficult to even stay current in one’s field of expertise. The difficulty of staying current has been a common observation of and complaint made by scientists for at least a hundred years: the difficulty increases exponentially especially when one adds one or two closely related fields to the task of staying current. Yet, the above observation was only a side-issue and not what I also noted and found to be equally, if not, more interesting.
In the few sites I explored, I noted the absence of at least three events, one of which is parochial and may have questionable meaning for the global society; the second of which had and may still have, deep meaning for society; the third, most definitely had and still has a very profound meaning - so much so that it must never be forgotten.
What are the three items?
Election Day in the USA. This item is of parochial interest to me as an American and may have helped create the itch. I can understand why it would not show up in calendars in other countries. I like to think that it would be mentioned in a compilation of past and current events if for no other reason than the very profound effects social and political events in the USA have on the rest of the world.
Armistice Day. At one time this was an honored day in Western countries. France made it a national holiday. I remember when I was a child the big fuss made over the Armistice Day parade and visiting the graves of those who paid the ultimate price defending the country. In the US, its name was eventually changed to Veteran’s Day to honor all vets, past and present. In other places it was called Remembrance Day.
Although Armistice Day was designed to memorialize the agreement between the allies of WW I and Germany for the supposed cessation of hostilities on the Western Front, I always wondered why the memorialization was for the troubled armistice and not for the Treaty of Versailles - the actual peace agreement. It turned out that, unforeseen at the time, the Treary of Versailles became very controversial. Some historians and commentators at first blamed the Treaty as being a major cause of WW II. But, the dislike of the Treaty, especially its supposed unfairness perceived by Germany, may have had a role in bringing on the war, it seemed that a very important reason was overlooked, i.e., the Allied powers did not really do all they could to modernize their military as Germany did and continuing to do: they were too weak to enforce the treaty. There may even be a question as to their will to want to enforce the treaty along with their failure to understand or accept the reality of Hitler’s dream. If the Western powers lived up to their responsibilities, there may never have been WW II. One can always play the game: WHAT IF? But, why, now, indulge in what appears to be an obvious exercise in futility? The past has occurred: we cannot change it, at least if we are honest. Because it provides a convenient segue into the third event.
Kristallnacht - The Night Of The Broken Glass: (Nov. 9, 10, 1938). This very descriptive name was attributed to the events that occurred during the vicious, unprovoked pogrom unleashed against the Jews on the night of November 9, 10, 1938, in Germany (which, at that time, included Austria and the Sudetenland) and was derived from the shards of broken glass that eventually littered the streets. Rioters, including neighbors, with the blessing of the police and fire departments; destroyed (including being burned) more than 1,000 synagogues, cemeteries were destroyed, at least 7,500 businesses owned by Jews were destroyed and looted and hospitals and schools run by Jews were destroyed as well homes owned by Jews were not just destroyed but ransacked. Over 30,000 Jewish males were arrested for no reason other than they were Jewish. They were put in concentration camps at Dachau, Buchenwald and Sachsenhausen. However, to accommodate such numbers each of these camps had to be expanded. WHAT OCCURRED WAS NOTHING LESS THAN ABSOLUTE EVIL.
KRISTALLNACHT WAS THE BEGINNING OF EVEN GREATER EVIL DOINGS - GAS CHAMBERS, CREMATORIA, EXPERIMENTS AND TORTURES THAT WORDS CANNOT FULLY DESCRIBE.
KRISTALLNACHT is considered the beginning of WW II.
KRISTALLNACHT IS THE BEGINNING OF THE FINAL SOLUTION.
KRISTALLNACHT changed the world forever.
There are so many events that occurred in Novembers, and other months and not all deserve being celebrated or memorialized.
How could such an Earth shattering event as KRISTALLNACHT be excluded from any calendar?