The Jewish Memorial to the Night of Broken Glass

Jews Remember the Lessons of Kristallnacht

Nov 9, 2009

The annual remembrance of Kristallnacht, on November 9 and 10 is the world's memorial to the start of the Jewish Holocaust, when fires raged across Germany and Austria.

Each year, on November 9 and 10, Jewish people around the world gather to acknowledge a significant page in Jewish history. It isn’t a holiday; it holds no religious significance in the manner that Passover, Sukkot and Rosh Hashanah hold, yet the importance of Kristallnacht is felt emotionally in small Jewish communities and large, in synagogues, yeshivas, and Jewish homes.

The Meaning of Kristallnacht - The Night of Broken Glass

November 9 and 10, 1938 is considered the beginning of the systematic persecution of Jews by the Nazis in Germany, Austria and later, other areas of Europe. While many people also observe Holocaust Remembrance Day on the 27th day of Nisan (which usually falls in April) as a national day of remembrance, Kristallnacht symbolizes how a holocaust can begin, and the devastating effect that both racism and political apathy can have on a world community.

Today, its memorial serves as a day of education and remembrance for teaching others about the impact of those fateful two days.

November 9, 1938 and the Jewish Holocaust

The events of Kristallnacht began the night of November 9. The pretext for the pogrom (riots) was the killing of a German diplomat by a 17-year-old Jewish boy named Herschel Grynszpan. Documents found on Grynszpan at the time of the shooting suggest he was acting in rebellion to persecution of his family by the Nazis.

The pogrom began two hours after news of the diplomat’s death had reached Hitler. Records retained by the Simon Wiesenthal Center in Los Angeles indicate that a senior Nazi official sent a telegram to state police and the paramilitary arm of the Nazi party, the SA, across Germany directing them not to interfere with or stop the riots.

Eye Witness Accounts of Kristallnacht

Personal accounts by Jewish and non-Jewish community members of the events of November 10, 1938 document the systematic burning of Jewish synagogues and homes, the destruction of Jewish Torahs, and the rounding up of thousands of Jews.

Some accounts suggest that the true purpose of Kristallnacht was to disarm all Jews ahead of what was to follow. More than 30,000 Jews were rounded up shortly after Kristallnacht, a step that was to signal the later detainment, expulsion and murder of more than 6,000,000 Jews, Christians and individuals who opposed the Nazis’ actions. Nazi concentration camps such as Auschwitz-Birkenau, Bergen-Belsen and Buchenwald were only three of the thousands extermination camps that had been established across Europe by the end of World War II.

As eye witnesses who survived Kristallnacht and the Shoah (the Jewish expression for the Holocaust) have died through the years, the urge to carry on Kristallnacht’s memorial has grown in importance. Many synagogues and Jewish community centers across the United States and Canada hold educational events to teach younger generations about these two days, and their significance to the events of the Shoah. The events range from lectures and panel discussions to educational films on Kristallnacht.

The Importance of Remembering the Holocaust

Most of the Jewish holidays that are observed as religious events in Judaism are symbolized by events of persecution of Jewish communities. They serve not only as reminders of religious traditions (such as the eating of matzo during Passover), but as educational tools to younger generations of both the traditions and the significance of being an observant Jew.

Children are taught through games and joyous events during Purim, of the importance — and the risks — of standing up against persecutors. Children and their parents are taught during Passover as well, to remember the story of the events that shaped the early Jew’s flight from Egypt so they can carry on the message with future generations.

In its own way, Kristallnacht serves as an even more visual and poignant reminder that those lessons are not only part of the Jewish people’s ancient heritage, but a real and evident part of the continuing challenge of being true to one’s faith, and of being a member of the Jewish community.

The copyright of the article The Jewish Memorial to the Night of Broken Glass in Judaism is owned by Jan Lee. Permission to republish The Jewish Memorial to the Night of Broken Glass in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.