163. In which year did the National Socialists destroy synagogues and Jewish-owned businesses in Germany?

Answer options

1. 1925
2. 1930
3. 1938
4. 1945

Explanation

The date refers to the November Pogrom of 1938 (Reichspogromnacht), when state-directed violence by the NSDAP, SA, SS, and police destroyed hundreds of synagogues and devastated thousands of Jewish-owned businesses. It marked the shift from exclusion to open, state-organized persecution—an egregious breach of the rule of law and freedom of religion. The Basic Law draws hard lessons: primacy of human dignity (Art. 1), equality and the ban on discrimination (Art. 3), freedom of religion (Art. 4), and the state's protective duties; the liberal democratic order defends itself against extremism (party and association bans), and incitement to hatred is criminalized (Section 130 StGB).