70th Anniversary of Kristallnacht

by Amy Judd | November 8, 2008 at 07:28 pm

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November 9 and 10 mark the 70th Anniversary of Kristallnacht - the Night of Broken Glass, when 92 Jews were murdered by the Nazis and about 30,000 were arrested and then deported to concentration camps. Many say this was the beginning of the Holocaust.

A ceremony was held Sunday at Berlin's largest synagogue, so people in Germany never forget what happened not too long ago in their country.

It was the night of November 9 when Nazi soldiers ransacked thousands of Jewish homes and businesses and even synagogues. The amount of broken glass that was left on the floor the next morning is where the event got its name.

In her weekly internet video message, Mrs Merkel said that many Germans at that time "did not want to see" what was happening.

"We know the unspeakable began that day and ended with the Holocaust," she said.

"We must guard that memory not only out of duty towards the victims but also to ensure that it does not happen again."

On Sunday, Mrs Merkel will attend a commemoration service with the Central Council of Jews in Germany at a restored synagogue in Berlin which survived the 1938 violence.

On Sunday evening, a concert entitled "Tu Was", or "Do Something", will be held at Berlin's Tempelhof airport.

There are concerns in Germany at the moment that anti-Semitism is on the rise again, especially by the National Democratic Party.
Many think that the education of young people about what happened in the Holocaust and the events leading up to it need to be taught better in schools.

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