Earlier this month, communities around the world paused to mark the 87th anniversary of Kristallnacht, the infamous "Night of Broken Glass" that signaled a devastating escalation in the Nazi campaign against Europe’s Jews. On November 9 and 10, 1938, Nazi forces unleashed a coordinated wave of violence across Germany and Austria, destroying more than 1,400 synagogues, vandalizing thousands of Jewish businesses, and arresting over 30,000 Jewish men who were then sent to concentration camps. The shattered glass that littered the streets became a haunting symbol of lives and communities torn apart. As Townhall reported, Kristallnacht remains one of history’s most chilling preludes to genocide, a warning that reverberates with renewed urgency today.
This year’s commemorations unfolded against a backdrop of rising antisemitism and renewed debate over how to honor the past while confronting the present. Across Europe, the Americas, and Israel, people gathered to remember victims and survivors, but also to confront the uncomfortable truth that the hatred which fueled Kristallnacht is far from vanquished.
In Jerusalem, three Holocaust survivors—Walter Bingham, age 101; George Shefi, 94; and Paul Alexander, 87—assembled at the Great Synagogue to share their memories. Bingham, who was just 14 when Nazis stormed his neighborhood, recalled, "We live in an era equivalent to 1938, where synagogues are burned, and people in the street are attacked." His words, reported by Townhall, resonated deeply in a year marked by an upsurge in antisemitic incidents worldwide.
Similar scenes of remembrance unfolded elsewhere. In Berlin, candles flickered at the sites of destroyed synagogues, while schoolchildren read aloud the names of those lost. Miami saw a community-wide vigil that drew hundreds, including interfaith leaders and local officials. In Toronto, museums hosted special exhibits and survivor panels to educate younger generations. Across Israel, flags flew at half-mast and memorial prayers echoed in synagogues nationwide.
In the United States, the FJMC Committee to Combat Antisemitism hosted a virtual event featuring Susan Warsinger, a Kristallnacht survivor and longtime Holocaust educator. She recounted how her childhood was upended by Nazi laws and violence: "We were just children," she said. "But we knew we were no longer safe." Her story, like so many others, is a living reminder of trauma that still shapes families and communities decades later.
But this year’s commemorations were not without controversy. In Frankfurt, American-Jewish philosopher and Holocaust researcher Jason Stanley was forced to cut short his speech during a memorial event organized by the local Jewish community. According to taz, Stanley’s remarks traced the vital role that Jewish thinkers like Moses Mendelsohn played in German culture and the Enlightenment. Drawing on his own family’s history—his great-grandfather was chief cantor of the Fasanenstraße synagogue in Berlin, his father fled Nazi Germany as a child, and many relatives perished in the Holocaust—Stanley spoke passionately about the legacy of Jewish liberalism.
Stanley warned of the dangers posed by far-right forces in Germany and elsewhere, contrasting the ideals of liberal democracy—freedom and equality—with the fascist impulse to unite a nation by choosing an enemy. "The construction of a nation based on the choice of a racial, ethnic, religious or sexual enemy is at the core of fascism," he said, as quoted by taz. He also expressed solidarity with migrants facing new waves of hostility in Europe today.
However, it was Stanley’s criticism of Zionism and Israel’s military actions in Gaza that proved too much for some in the audience. He argued that "criticism of Israel’s atrocities in the Gaza Strip" and "criticism of Israel’s long-standing unequal treatment of the Palestinian people" are not inherently antisemitic. "A significant minority of American Jews are critical of Israel’s treatment of the Palestinians. Among young American Jews, the number of critical voices is significantly higher," Stanley said. He also decried the tendency in Germany to equate criticism of Israel with antisemitism, warning that the power to define who is Jewish and who is not should not rest with the state or community leaders.
Stanley’s speech was interrupted by audience members and a rabbi, who urged him to stop. Shocked, Stanley left the synagogue through a side entrance, later describing the incident as "a betrayal of the liberal German-Jewish tradition." The next day, the Frankfurt Jewish community publicly distanced itself from him, with community chairman Benjamin Graumann accusing Stanley of exploiting a solemn occasion for a provocative lecture.
The controversy in Frankfurt underscored the tensions that often surface when history, identity, and politics collide. In Stanley’s view, the legacy of Kristallnacht and the Holocaust demands a commitment to liberal values and open debate, even—and perhaps especially—when those debates are uncomfortable. "It was about Kristallnacht and the legacy of liberalism. That includes freedom of expression," he told taz.
Meanwhile, the rise of antisemitism is a stark reality. Since the October 7, 2023 terror attacks in Israel, antisemitic incidents have surged worldwide. The Anti-Defamation League reports that in the United States alone, such incidents have spiked by over 893 percent in the past decade. Jewish leaders in Europe describe a climate of fear not seen since World War II, while in Israel, the trauma of war and terror continues to weigh heavily on families and communities.
In response, organizations like the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews have stepped up support for survivors and victims. Earlier this year, the Fellowship opened a Resilience Center in Israel, offering trauma counseling, group therapy, and long-term care for families affected by war and captivity. The center also serves Holocaust survivors who continue to carry the burden of memory. As Fellowship President and Global CEO Yael Eckstein told Townhall, "The center is a hospital for the soul. It's no less important than the hospitals that treat physical wounds."
Robin Van Etten, US CEO and Global Chief Operating Officer of the Fellowship, emphasized the importance of action as well as remembrance. "The work is far from over. As the threat of rising antisemitism looms over us, the need for compassion, courage, and commitment has never been greater," she said.
As the world marks another anniversary of Kristallnacht, the lessons of that night feel as urgent as ever. The challenge is not only to remember the horrors of the past, but to confront the prejudices of the present—and to ensure that "never again" is more than just a phrase. The ongoing debates, the acts of remembrance, and the work of healing all point to a shared responsibility: to honor the past by shaping a future where hate has no home.
