What appears to be happening, and who are the people in the photograph?

Why do you think the Nazis decided to burn synagogue furnishings in the town square instead of simply destroying them with the synagogue?

The school director was ordered to bring the students of Zeven to observe the bonfire, but was himself absent as were most of the adult inhabitants of Zeven. Adult male Jewish residents of Zeven were arrested and deported to the concentration camp at Sachsenhausen.

What roles do teachers and parents traditionally fill for children? How was that role changed in Zeven during Kristallnacht? Who seems to be filling this role?