Germans Honor Kristallnacht Victims

Germany, Israel Mark 70th Anniversary of November 9, 1938

Nov 9, 2008

"We must not be silent condemning anti-Semitism", German chancellor Angela Merkel declared Sunday, November 9, as Germany commemorated attacks on Jews 70 years ago.

Kristallnacht, or The Night of Broken Glass, was a pogrom in Nazi Germany on November 9, 1938 , that marked the beginning of horrific violence against Jews under the Hitler regime. On a single night 92 Jewish citizens were murdered, and 30.000 boys and men deported to concentration camps. Nazi Party officials smashed the windows of Jewish stores, smeared swastikas (the Nazi Party symbol) on Jewish homes and burned down synagogues.

German Chancellor Denounces Anti-Semitism

At a solemn memorial service in Berlin German Chancellor Angela Merkel acknowledged that many Germans silently watched while the Nazis unleashed a wave of violence against Jews. "There was no storm of protest against the Nazis, but silence, shrugged shoulders and people looking away -- from individual citizens to large parts of the church," she said. "We cannot be silent, we cannot be indifferent when Jewish cemeteries are desecrated and rabbis are insulted on the street" (Welt-Online). Merkel stressed that xenophobia, racism and anti-Semitism should never have a chance in Europe again. Charlotte Knobloch, head of Germany's Central Council of Jews, told the gathering in Berlin that Germans must fight against far-right extremism in all its forms. Iran's threats against Israel and a growing number of votes for neo-Nazis in Germany are signs of disturbing anti-Jewish sentiments.

Pope Calls For Prayers

The German-born Pope Benedict XVI called for prayers for Kristallnacht's victims in "profound solidarity with the Jewish world." Only last month Benedict backed the beatification of his controversial World War II predecessor Pope Pius XII, defending his actions during a "complex historical moment." His position has sparked bitter debates between Catholics and Jews.

At Yad Vashem, Israel's official Holocaust memorial, survivors and their families participated in a ceremony that included a performance of music by the German-Jewish composer Robert Kahn. His compositions were outlawed by the Nazis.Kahn left Germany for England in 1936 and spent the rest of his life in obscurity. His music has been rediscovered in recent years.

Re-Building of Synagogues in Germany

After unification in 1990, Germany accepted many Jewish immigrants from the former Soviet Union. The Jewish community in Germany is one of the fastest growing in the world with 110.000 members. Two German cities, Göttingen and Lörrach, consecrated new synagogues today in a symbolic gesture of remembrance and revival of Jewish life. The building in Göttingen is a half-timbered village synagogue that was in use from 1825 to 1937. It was carefully moved to its new site in the central city.

The Jewish community In the city of Speyer (Rhineland-Palatinate) was laying the foundation stone for a new synagogue. After a concert at Memorial Church featuring works of Jewish composers, Speyer's Russian Jewish community gathered at the site of the new synagogue for a candlelight ceremony.

"Anti-Jewish Terror in 1938" Exhibition Opening

Berlin is commemorating the 70th anniversary of the Kristallnacht pogroms with seminars, discussions and exhibits. On November 6th, 2008 an exhibition titled "Es brennt!" (Fire!) opened at the Central Judaicum in Berlin, Germany. The exhibition shows new photo and film material from the years 1938-39. It details how the humiliation of Jewish people was a central motive of Nazi ideology. Shaming and torturing of Jews were the logical next steps by the Hitler regime towards its horrific plan of extinction of a whole people.

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