by Penina Charry, SSLI '27
Earlier today, the Holocaust Education and Remembrance (HEAR) Club commemorated Kristallnacht during Minyan.
HEAR members lead a Kristallnacht commemoration. (SSLI Instagram)
During the initial stages of the Holocaust, on November 9 and 10, 1938, many antisemitic attacks were carried out. Jewish-owned storefronts were smashed, synagogues and Torahs were set aflame, and Jews were taken to concentration camps. This day is called Kristallnacht, or the night of broken glass.
Senior Sasha Chernoff, a co-president of the club, thought that it is very important to remember this day because “many Jews in that time went through horrible events.”
Chernoff has personal connections to Kristallnacht because she is “really close with Arnie, a Holocaust survivor, and he shared his family’s experience during Kristallnacht.” Sophomore Sara Rosenthal also has a personal connection because Kristallnacht marks a very important time in her family’s history. Rosenthal stated that Kristallnacht “was the reason my great grandparents left Germany and fled to Switzerland, and eventually to the US.”
Students also felt a deeper connection this year because of the tragedy that occurred on October 7, 2023. Liba Fruithandler, a freshman, “felt like it meant a lot more” this year because the October 7 massacre was the largest murdering of Jews since the Holocaust. Rosenthal noted that today was “especially painful because of the recent pogrom in Amsterdam at the soccer match.” Chernoff thinks it is “important that we talk about these things, especially because the world is looking a little familiar now with all of the rising antisemitism and what happened in Amsterdam recently.”
Fruithandler concluded by saying that this program reminded her of how much the Jewish people have grown since the time of Kristallnacht, and how some things are still the same.
Never again is now.
Senior Sasha Chernoff, a co-president of the club, thought that it is very important to remember this day because “many Jews in that time went through horrible events.”
Chernoff has personal connections to Kristallnacht because she is “really close with Arnie, a Holocaust survivor, and he shared his family’s experience during Kristallnacht.” Sophomore Sara Rosenthal also has a personal connection because Kristallnacht marks a very important time in her family’s history. Rosenthal stated that Kristallnacht “was the reason my great grandparents left Germany and fled to Switzerland, and eventually to the US.”
Students also felt a deeper connection this year because of the tragedy that occurred on October 7, 2023. Liba Fruithandler, a freshman, “felt like it meant a lot more” this year because the October 7 massacre was the largest murdering of Jews since the Holocaust. Rosenthal noted that today was “especially painful because of the recent pogrom in Amsterdam at the soccer match.” Chernoff thinks it is “important that we talk about these things, especially because the world is looking a little familiar now with all of the rising antisemitism and what happened in Amsterdam recently.”
Fruithandler concluded by saying that this program reminded her of how much the Jewish people have grown since the time of Kristallnacht, and how some things are still the same.
Never again is now.
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