It was in Germany on November 10, 1938, the day 14-year-old Hedy said her whole world collapsed.
Shortly after school began, her principal, usually mild-mannered and kind, entered her classroom to make the hateful speech. He then instructed the other students to join a public demonstration against the Jews. On their way outside, some of her own classmates pushed Hedy and also called her a “dirty Jew.”
The only other Jewish student at the school, a boy named Hans, joined Hedy in her deserted classroom. Out the window, they saw a group of Jewish men chained together, SS members whipping them as they were forced to march down the street.
Hedy and Hans went to call their parents to find out what to do, but instead of familiar voices, they were met by an operator, announcing the line was disconnected. Afraid and confused, they decided to go home.
Learn what happened next when Hedy went to find her parents in Kippenheim, Germany, on Kristallnacht, or the “Night of Broken Glass.”