The Florida Holocaust Museum Announces Kristallnacht Commemoration Event with Yad Vashem Speaker

The Florida Holocaust Museum will host its annual Kristallnacht commemoration on November 10 at 2:00pm at Congregation Beth Shalom in Clearwater. The event is free and open to the public.

The commemoration will begin with a short service of prayer and song from Rabbi David Weizman, followed by a special candle lighting by Holocaust Survivors and their descendants. It will conclude with a lecture from keynote speaker Sheryl Ochayon of the International Institute for Holocaust Education at Yad Vashem, Israel’s World Holocaust Remembrance Center.

Ochayon is the Project Director of Echoes & Reflections, a program that empowers American middle and high school educators with dynamic classroom materials and professional development.

“This is certainly one of the harder days on the calendar, but that makes remembering it all the more important,” said Ochayon. “As some downplay today’s historically high levels of antisemitism, we need the reminder of what can happen when we let ugly emotions and hatred fester.”

Kristallnacht owes its name to the shards of shattered glass from broken windows that lined German streets on November 9-10, 1938. Overnight, thousands of Jewish-owned

businesses, homes, and synagogues were ransacked and destroyed in a series of state-coordinated riots throughout Germany. In the aftermath, the Nazi regime blamed Jews for the pogrom and taxed them to pay for the cleanup. This was the first widespread use of violence against Jews by the Nazi regime, presaging the mass murder of the Holocaust.

“Although directed by the Nazi government, Kristallnacht could not have happened without the willing participation and acquiescence of German civilians, and given what we’ve seen since October 7, that fact feels more familiar today than it has in decades,” said Mike Igel, Interim CEO and Chair Emeritus at The Florida Holocaust Museum. “This is not a road we can afford to walk any further down, which is why fighting antisemitism is a core part of the Museum’s mission. Days like Kristallnacht remind us of our importance, and its anniversary reminds us why we must continue that battle every day.”

The Florida Holocaust Museum thanks its partners at Congregation Beth Shalom for hosting this event and keeping this annual tradition alive while the Museum is under construction.

Please RSVP here: https://www.thefhm.org/event/kristallnacht-commemoration-2024/

About The Florida Holocaust Museum

One of the largest Holocaust Museums in the country, one of three nationally accredited Holocaust museums, and the future home of Elie Wiesel’s personal collection, The Florida Holocaust Museum honors the memory of millions of men, women, and children who suffered or died in the Holocaust. The FHM is dedicated to teaching members of all races and cultures the inherent worth and dignity of human life in order to prevent future genocides. For additional information, please visit www.TheFHM.org.