Nearly 8,000 Jewish-owned businesses, schools, hospitals, and homes were destroyed during one night of brutality in November 1938. German Nazis and their supporters took to the streets of Germany and Austria bent on destruction. They burned hundreds of synagogues to the ground, killed more than 100 Jews, and sent 30,000 more to concentration camps. Kristallnacht, "the night of broken glass," would mark the beginning of the Holocaust.

Stephanie Fitzgerald has been writing nonfiction for children for more than 10 years. Her specialties include history, wildlife, and popular culture. Stephanie is currently working on a picture book with the help of her daughter, Molly.