Why do Kristallnacht mean night of broken glass?

Answer 1

In German it means " Night of the broken glass" - a reference to the smashed windows of Jewish-owned shops.
In the context of the pogrom of 9-10 November 1938 Kristallrefers to the broken glass resulting from the deliberate destruction of Jewish businesses, especially shops. Like most shops, many of these had high quality lead crystal glass windows (shop fronts). In German Nacht mean night, and so Kristallnacht is generally translated into English as the night of the broken glass.

Answer 2

The Nazis didn't call it Kristallnacht. According to the Jewish politician Adolf Arndt, who was a lawyer in Berlin in 1938, the expression (Reichs)Kristallnacht originated amongst Berliners and their gallows humour as an expression of their powerlessness against, and disgust of, the Nazi apparatus and its attrocities. The term was not used by the Nazis until June 1939.

Nazi propoganda referred to Kristallnacht as Judenaktion(campaign against the Jews), Novemberaktion (November campaign), Vergeltungsaktion (reprisal campaign) or Sonderaktion (special campaign). The town gatherings that were ordered by the Nazis the following day referred to the attacks as antijüdische Demonstrationen (anti-Jewish demonstrations) or gerechte Vergeltungskundgebungen (justified manifestations of reprisal). Members of the SA, SS and Hitler Youth who took part called it die Nacht der langen Messer (Night of the long knives, as they had the Röhm Putch).

Answer 3

it's German