What was the role of the police during Kristallnacht?

Examine Nazi Documents from the
National Archives, Washington, D.C.

With Hitler's approval, Nazi propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels and other radical activists in the Nazi party initiated the anti-Jewish pogrom that came to be called Kristallnacht. Although Goebbels instigated the pogrom, the SS and Security Police leadership quickly asserted their authority over German police units and local Nazi political leaders in an attempt to manipulate the anti-Jewish riot. Following Kristallnacht, responsibility for Nazi anti-Jewish policy effectively shifted to the SS.