The Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial and museum in Jerusalem held a memorial service and seminar on Nov. 8 to mark the 80th anniversary of Kristallnacht or “Night of Broken Glass.” The event, a joint initiative with the Association of Israelis of Central European Origin, was attended by German Ambassador to Israel Susanne Wasum-Rainer.
Speaking at the event, David Boaz, president of the Association of Central European Origin, said “we mark 80 years to the pogrom, a series of riots that included the destruction and burning of synagogues, the looting of Jewish stores, a murderous campaign and the internment of tens of thousands [of people] in concentration camps. The Nazis called it ‘Kristallnacht.’ As we do every year, we have convened at Yad Vashem for a memorial rally and a day of study, lest we forget the events and lest the events forgotten.”
Television presenter David Witzthum moderated a panel on the subject of “echoes of the pogrom during the pogrom and in modern memory.”
The day commenced with a special memorial ceremony in the museum’s Hall of Remembrance and a rally in the auditorium.
During the ceremony, Professor Charlie Greenbaum, who witnessed the pogrom, lit one of the beacons. Elisheva Ben Yashar, whose parents moved to Israel with her immediately after the pogrom when she was still a baby, laid a wreath at the Hall of Remembrance.