1938: Nazis looted and burned synagogues as well as thousands of Jewish-owned stores and houses in Germany and Austria in a deliberate persecution that became known as “Kristallnacht.”

1989: Communist East Germany threw open its borders, allowing citizens to travel freely to the West for the first time in decades.

In the nation

2011: After 46 seasons as Penn State’s head football coach and a record 409 victories, Joe Paterno was fired along with the university president, Graham Spanier, over their handling of child sex abuse allegations against former assistant coach Jerry Sandusky.

Today’s birthdays

Film director Bille August is 76. Actor-bodybuilder Lou Ferrigno is 73. TV writer-director-producer Ryan Murphy is 59. Golfer David Duval is 53. Actor Eric Dane is 52. Musician-TV personality Nick Lachey is 51. Actor-TV personality Vanessa Lachey is 44. Musician Chris Lane is 40.

— The Associated Press