On the night of November 9, 1938, the synagogue in Hechingen was completely devastated inside.
Martin later described what he had to experience in Sennfeld:

"On November 10, 1938, the vocational school was attacked by SA and SS and all the occupants, 20 boys and 10 girls were beaten up so badly that medical help had to be sought. I myself suffered a hernia. When I wanted to emigrate to England a few months later, I did not get my papers until this hernia was resolved by an operation."