‘Pogromnacht’ anniversary

On this anniversary we call on the international community to cease using the Nazi’s terminology for such a grave event. Kristallnacht – the night of broken glass – is used to make little of what befell the Jews of Germany and Austria on these days. We must recognize that there was a lot more broken than glass.

On Nov. 9 and 10, 1938, Jewish homes and shops were ransacked and synagogues destroyed. Jews were forced to pay for the damages inflicted upon them. Many were tortured in the streets and as many as 30,000 were sent to concentration camps and never to return.

Let us commemorate the ninth and 10th of November and honor those who suffered by ceasing to use the Nazi term for the event. Let’s begin to call it what it really was – Pogromnacht – a notoriously grave pogrom against the Jewish people of Germany and Austria.

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