Germany commemorates 85th anniversary of Kristallnacht amid rising anti-Semitism

The ceremony was held in the Beth Zion synagogue in Berlin, devastated by the Nazis in 1938, and targeted on October 18 by Molotov cocktail throwing, around ten days after the Hamas terrorist attack against Israel. Germany commemorated Thursday, November 9, the 85th anniversary of Kristallnacht. On the night of November 9 to 10, 1938, unprecedented violence – called “Kristallnacht” because of the broken glass littering the streets after acts of vandalism – marked the intensification of Nazi persecution against Jews, leading to the death of 6 million of them during the Shoah.

The image is symbolic: Holocaust survivor Margot Friedländer, 102, is sitting alongside relatives of Hamas hostages. The president of the central committee of Jews in Germany, Josef Schuster, condemns the recent anti-Semitic acts which recall the darkest hours of history: “We must understand what is happening in the souls of Jews 85 years after the night of the pogrom, when the Star of David is painted again on Jewish homes and Jewish stores are attacked. It is not “It is inconceivable that such a hunt for Jews would take place in Germany. In recent weeks, I sometimes no longer recognize this country.”

2,000 anti-Semitic acts in Germany since October 7

Black kippa on the head, Olaf Scholz denounces “the poison of anti-Semitism”. The Chancellor guarantees the Jews of Germany to ensure their protection: “We do not tolerate anti-Semitism anywhere! For us, it is about keeping the promise repeated repeatedly in the decades following 1945: never again! We must keep this promise now, not only in words but also and above all in our actions.” The chancellor promises to condemn anyone who supports terrorism and spreads hatred. Since the Hamas attack, German authorities have counted 2,000 anti-Semitic acts.