Arms in the Hands of Jews are a Danger to Public Safety: Nazism, Firearm Registration, and the Night of the Broken Glass

Authors

Stephen P. Halbrook

First Page

109

Document Type

Article

Abstract

The following begins with a detailed analysis of the arrest reports of Alfred Flatow and two other Berlin Jews who possessed registered firearms or whose firearms were discovered in house searches by the police. It then shows these arrests to have been part of an orchestrated Nazi police campaign to disarm all Berlin Jews, including those whose firearms were lawfully possessed. Having rendered Jews defenseless, the stage was set for a major pogrom. When an incident, which took place abroad, gave the Nazis the excuse they needed for a rampage throughout all of Germany, the Night of the Broken Glass--characterized by massive searches and seizures against Jews allegedly for weapons, and involving the destruction of homes, businesses, and synagogues-was the result.

Recommended Citation

Stephen P. Halbrook, Arms in the Hands of Jews are a Danger to Public Safety: Nazism, Firearm Registration, and the Night of the Broken Glass, 21 St. Thomas L. Rev. 109 (2009).
Available at: https://scholarship.stu.edu/stlr/vol21/iss2/2