What is Masada, Kristallnacht?
Masada is the name of an almost impenetrable mountain-fortress which was where a group of Jews stood against the Roman army in a very prolonged seige. The Romans finally defeated the rebels by using Jewish slaves to construct a ramp up to the main gate. Unwilling to kill thier own people, the Jews inside Masada could only watch as the slaves were forced to build the ramp higher and higher. Finally, instead of giving the Romans the pleasure of conquest, the Jews inside Masada defiantly commited mass suicide. Kristallnacht refers to the “Night of Broken Glass” when German troops smashed the windows of Jewish storefronts in Germany. I believe that this is generally considered the beginning of the Holocaust.
