In English:
Auf Deutsch:
: בעברית
Beit Ashkenaz / Aschkenasisches Haus/ בית אשכנז >>>
YNET NEWS: Remembering Kristallnacht
Abraham H. Foxman says Kristallnacht taught us that we must stop hate in its tracks
For those of us engaged in the fight against anti-Semitism, the commemoration of Kristallnacht which took place 70 years ago on November 9-10, has special meaning. Of course, Kristallnacht is important to remember because it was the moment when it became clear that Nazi hatred of Jews was beyond anything seen before. It is important to remember because there are yet those among us who lived through, witnessed it, and survived it. And it is important to remember because after Kristallnacht, the world no longer had any excuses for not acting against the barbarism of Nazi anti-Semitism. >>> Abraham H Foxman | November 9, 2008
YNET NEWS: Pogrom Witnessed by All
Despite Kristallancht being widely reported, world took no steps to punish Germany
The Berlin correspondent of the London Daily Telegraph reported on November 10: “Mob law ruled in Berlin throughout the afternoon and evening and hordes of hooligans indulged in an orgy of destruction. I have seen several anti-Jewish outbreaks in Germany during the last five years, but never anything as nauseating as this. Racial hatred and hysteria seemed to have taken complete hold of otherwise decent people. I saw fashionably dressed women clapping their hands and screaming with glee, while respectable, middle-class mothers held up their babies to see the “’fun.’”
This was just one of many reports that appeared in the international press after the Nazis instigated attacks on Jews throughout Germany and Austria on November 9-10 in what became known as Kristallancht, the “Night of Broken Glass. During the “orgy of destruction” at least 96 Jews were murdered, 1,300 synagogues and 7,500 businesses were destroyed, and countless Jewish cemeteries and schools were vandalized. An estimated 30,000 Jews were imprisoned in concentration camps.
Germans and Austrians witnessed and, in many cases, participated in the pogrom. They could not claim, as many would after World War II, that they were unaware of the persecution of the Jews.
Michael Bruce, a non-Jewish Englishman, provided this eyewitness account of Kristallnacht: “Hurriedly we went out into the street. It was crowded with people, all hurrying towards a nearby synagogue, shouting and gesticulating angrily. We followed. As we reached the synagogue and halted, silent and angry, on the fringe of the mob, flames began to rise from one end of the building. It was the signal for a wild cheer. The crowd surged forward and greedy hands tore seats and woodwork from the building to feed the flames.” >>> Mitchell Bard | November 9, 2008
YNET NEWS: Pope Says He’s Still Pained by Kristallnacht
On 70th anniversary of Nazi pogrom, German-born Benedict XVI invites worshippers to pray for victims, express profound solidarity with Jewish world; Chancellor Merkel calls on Germans to stand together against racism, anti-Semitism
Chancellor Angela Merkel called on Germans to stand together against racism and anti-Semitism as the nation marked the 70th anniversary of the Nazi pogrom known as Kristallnacht or Night of Broken Glass, after the smashed windows of the thousands of Jewish businesses and synagogues that were attacked and torched by Adolf Hitler's followers in 1938. >>> News agencies | November 9, 2008
BBC:
Merkel Urges Anti-racist Action >>> | November 9, 2008
