08 November 2010
A memorial ceremony and symposium will be held at Yad Vashem on Tuesday, November 9, 2010, marking 72 years since the Kristallnacht pogrom.
On November 9, 1938, the Nazis unleashed a series of riots against the Jews in Germany and Austria. In the space of a few hours, thousands of synagogues and Jewish businesses and homes were damaged or destroyed. For the first time, tens of thousands of Jews were sent to concentration camps simply because they were Jewish. This event came to be called Kristallnacht ("Night of the Broken Glass") for the shattered store windowpanes that carpeted German streets. An online exhibition, It Came From Within , is now on www.yadvashem.org and includes historical information, images and testimonies.
The symposium, which is being held in conjunction with the Association of Israelis of Central European Origin, will take place in the Yad Vashem Auditorium in Hebrew (translation into English available) and is open to the press. Below is the program. RSVP: 02 644 3410.
10:00: Greetings
H.E. Dr. Harald Kindermann, Ambassador of Germany in Israel
H.E. Mag. Michael Rendi, Ambassador of Austria in Israel
Mr. Reuven Merhav, Chairman, Association of Israelis of Central European Origin Volunteer from the Action Reconciliation Service for Peace
10:30: Lecture: Antisemitism and Holocaust Denial
Dr. David Silberklang, Editor, Yad Vashem Studies
Virtues of Memory - Holocaust Survivor Artists from Central Europe
Ms. Yehudit Shendar, Senior Art Curator and Deputy Director of the Museums Division, Yad Vashem
MC: Micha Limor
12:00: Memorial ceremony in the Hall of Remembrance
At 17:30 Rabbi Mordechai Neugroschel will speak in the Yad Vashem Synagogue (in Hebrew). The Synagogue displays Judaica from destroyed Synagogues of Europe.
