Events leading to Holocaust Published April 24, 2009 By Airman 1st Class Vanessa Sanford 90th Civil Engineer Squadron F.E. WARREN AIR FORCE BASE, Wyo. -- It has been 65 years since the Allies liberated the concentration camps and freed all of the prisoners from certain death. This month, we remember all of the souls that were stolen during that time. There were numerous events that led up to the beginning of the extermination of "those not worthy;" this includes the night of broken glass or Krystallnacht, which was initiated by the assassination of Third Reich Secretary Ernest von Rath. Ernest von Rath was killed by a young Jewish man, Herschel Grynszpan, whose family had been taken to a deportation camp on the border of Poland. However, this was not the beginning of the isolation of the Jewish populace. In post World War I, the Allies had placed a fine on Germany for all the trouble they had caused. Adolf Hitler said he was the one who could get them out of their debt and get Germany back on its feet. He did this by creating jobs, constructing the super highway Autobahn and public housing. When Hitler was elected to Chancellor of Germany, he began to ban persons of the Jewish faith from doing almost anything - riding public transportation and going to public places where they would mingle with non-Jewish people. These and many other actions led to the deportation of Jews to Poland, and when Poland refused to accept them, the Nazi placed the dislocated persons into deportation camps. This led to the assassination of Ernest von Rath and the night of broken glass. The even wasn't finished in only one night; it was two nights, Nov. 9 and 10, 1938. Gangs of young Nazis all throughout Germany ransacked Jewish homes, businesses and synagogues. Ninety-one people were beaten to death and assaults were occurring everywhere. Even though this was clearly done by others, it was blamed on the Jewish people, and some 26,000 Jews were arrested and sent to concentration camps. Because of these hate crimes toward one group of people, we as a nation have come together to remember the past. My high school history teacher always said "history will repeat itself, one way or another." Sadly, she was right. There are many exterminations of "those not worthy" going on even now. Even people who know of the Holocaust ask 'why did so many people died? Why Jews?' The answer is simple: hate.