Hitler's pawn the boy assassin and the Holocaust
Presents the story of a seventeen-year-old Jew whose assassination of a German diplomat in Paris was used by the Nazis as a pretext for the state-sponsored anti-Semitic pogrom known as Kristallnacht.
Main Author: | Koch, Stephen, 1941- (Author) |
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Format: | Books Print Book |
Language: | English |
Published: |
Berkeley, California :
Counterpoint,
2019.
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Edition: | First hardcover edition. |
Subjects: |
Summary: |
Presents the story of a seventeen-year-old Jew whose assassination of a German diplomat in Paris was used by the Nazis as a pretext for the state-sponsored anti-Semitic pogrom known as Kristallnacht. "A remarkable story of a forgotten seventeen-year-old Jew who was blamed by the Nazis for the anti-Semitic violence and terror known as the Kristallnacht, the pogrom still seen as an initiating event of the Holocaust. After learning about Nazi persecution of his family, Herschel Grynszpan (pronounced 'Greenspan'), an impoverished seventeen-year-old Jew living in Paris, bought a small handgun and on November 7, 1938, went to the German embassy and shot the first German diplomat he saw. When the man died two days later, Hitler and Goebbels made the shooting their pretext for the great state-sponsored wave of anti-Semitic terror known as Kristallnacht, still seen by many as an initiating event of the Holocaust. Overnight, Grynszpan, a bright but naive teenager--and a perfect political nobody--was front-page news and a pawn in a global power struggle. When France fell, the Nazis captured Grynszpan after a wild chase and flew him to Berlin. The boy became a privileged prisoner of the Gestapo while Hitler and Goebbels plotted a massive show trial to blame 'the Jews' for starting World War II. A prisoner and alone, Grynszpan grasped Hitler's intentions and waged a battle of wits to sabotage the trial, knowing that even if he succeeded, he would certainly be murdered. The battle of wits was close, but Grynszpan finally won. Based on the newest research, Hitler's Pawn is the richest telling of Grynszpan's story to date."--Dust jacket. |
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Physical Description: |
x, 259 pages : illustration ; 24 cm |
Bibliography: |
Includes bibliographical references (pages 231-233) and index. |
ISBN: |
9781640091443 1640091440 |
Author Notes: |
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