Kristallnacht

Hello, you have come here looking for the meaning of the word Kristallnacht. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word Kristallnacht, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say Kristallnacht in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word Kristallnacht you have here. The definition of the word Kristallnacht will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition ofKristallnacht, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.

English

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from German Kristallnacht (“night of broken glass”, literally “crystal night”).

Noun

Kristallnacht

  1. (historical, Nazism) The night of November 9–10, 1938, when a state-organized night of terror was staged against Jews in Germany and Austria.
    Synonym: Night of Broken Glass
    • 2009, Alan E. Steinweis, Kristallnacht 1938, Harvard University Press, →ISBN, page 4:
      The Kristallnacht was a monumental development in Nazi anti-Jewish policy for several reasons. It was the single instance of large-scale, public, and organized physical violence against Jews inside Germany before the Second World War.
    • 2014 January 24, Tom Perkins, “Progressive Kristallnacht Coming?”, in Wall Street Journal‎, →ISSN:
      This is a very dangerous drift in our American thinking. Kristallnacht was unthinkable in 1930; is its descendant “progressive” radicalism unthinkable now?
    • 2021 January 10, Martin Pengelly, “Schwarzenegger rebukes Trump and compares Capitol riot to Kristallnacht”, in The Guardian‎, →ISSN:
      Arnold Schwarzenegger issued a stinging rebuke of Donald Trump on Sunday, comparing the riot at the US Capitol which the president incited to Kristallnacht, the night in November 1938 when Nazi thugs attacked Jewish Germans and their property, a harbinger of horrors to come.

Translations

Translations

Further reading

German

Etymology

From Kristall (“crystal”) +‎ Nacht (“night”), alluding to the crystals of broken glass from the destroyed shop and synagogue windows.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /kʁɪsˈtalˌnaxt/
  • Audio:(file)

Noun

Kristallnacht f (genitive Kristallnacht, no plural)

  1. (historical, euphemistic, Nazism) Kristallnacht (state-organized night of terror staged against Jews)
    Synonyms: Reichskristallnacht, Reichspogromnacht

Usage notes

The term may be regarded as a euphemism and Reichspogromnacht (literally “Reich pogrom night”) may be used instead.

Declension

Declension of Kristallnacht
singular
indef. def. noun
nominative eine die Kristallnacht
genitive einer der Kristallnacht
dative einer der Kristallnacht
accusative eine die Kristallnacht

Descendants

  • → Polish: noc kryształowa (calque)

See also

Further reading

Wikious
Boobota
Sagapedia