After seizing power, the Nazis began their crusade against Jews with discriminatory laws and looting of property; they turned to violence openly in what has come to be known as Kristallnacht: the night of broken glass.

In November 1938 German soldiers set on fire some 400 synagogues and destroyed 7,000 Jewish stores and businesses.  More than 90 people were killed, 600 committed suicide, and over 26,000 men were deported to concentration camps.

Through rare footage, photographs and documents, The Night of Broken Glass reveals the background to this orgy of anti-Semitic violence, which – while masterminded by the Nazi regime – is shown to have been largely accepted by the German public.