Kristallnacht

As announced on Sunday, the windows of the church have candles glowing tonight and tomorrow night. This is in remembrance of the precursor to the Holocaust, called the Night of Broken Glass, which occurred in Germany and Austria and other places. Jewish businesses, homes, and places of worship were wrecked by civilian and military Nazi-aligned forces. Windows were shattered. Buildings were burned. Many Jews were rounded up that night and sent to concentration camps.

Some educational articles to learn more:

• My Jewish Learning’s article on Kristallnacht
• The Manchester Union Leader’s letter on Shedding Light on Kristallnacht by Rabbi Beth Davidson
• This article by Amy Brenner was recommended by Mt Washington Valley’s own poet and scholar Judith Felsen: Amy Brenner article for the Caledonian
• If you missed Sunday’s meditation on Veterans Day observances and Kristallnacht remembrance, here is the video of that message: BRAVE.

This invitation and event began with Rabbis from around the state, and specifically an outreach from Bethlehem Hebrew Congregation to our region.

The New Hampshire Council of Churches writes: ” The NH Council of Churches invites you to commemorate Kristallnacht by leaving the lights on in your church building all night from Monday, November 9 to Tuesday, November 10, 2020. We have been invited to this action by the Rabbis of our state and this is a demonstration of solidarity with them against antisemitism and religious persecution . This act is also a public statement that, “I pledge to unite the world by shining light over the darkness of hate,” in the words of International March of the Living.” The NH Council of Churches’ own announcement of the event can be found here: https://nhchurches.org/kristallnacht2020/.