Washington, DC—Members of Congress, German officials, Jewish leaders, and diplomats gathered on Tuesday to mark the publication of an unprecedented, historic two-volume work documenting, for the first time in English, the synagogues and prayer houses destroyed on the night of November 9, 1938 Pogromnacht (Kristallnacht is what the Nazis called it diminish its true nature.)
That night and through November 10th and its aftermath, witnessed the destruction of more than 1300 synagogues and shtiblach (prayer houses), makring the end of most Jewish communal life in Germany. As Holocaust educator Michael Berenbaum has noted, that night ripped the Jewish community out of the German community. In addition, countless Jewish businesses, homes and institutions were attacked and many Jews arrested.
The ceremony, hosted by House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Ed Royce and Ranking Minority Member Eliot Engel, comes a day after Holocaust Memorial Day. Attendees included members of Congress, Israeli Ambassador to the U.S., Ron Dermer; Norbert Roettgen, Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the German Bundestag; former German Ambassador Wolfgang Ischinger, Executive Vice President of Allianz SE; Peter Lefkin, Senior Vice President of Allianz North America, and leaders of many Jewish organizations.
This project, which took more than ten years to research, compile, and publish, was led by Professor Meir Schwarz of Jerusalem, who heads Beit Ashkenaz and the Synagogue Memorial Project. His singular dedication along with his committed associates from Israel and Germany, made this a reality. Malcolm Hoenlein, CEO of the Conference, was involved from the onset, and enlisted a group of American Jews dedicated to memorializing these communities and their synagogues. He convinced Ambassador Ischinger and Peter Lefkin of Allianz to provide vital support to bring the project to fruition.
This work revises past assumptions and documents a far greater number of Jewish houses of worship that were destroyed than previously acknowledged. It is intended to remind the reader and researchers of the true scope of the destruction and the role ordinary citizens played in aiding the anti-Jewish attacks, and of the magnitude of the loss. But also, it recalls the vibrant Jewish life and the celebrations that were held in those buildings, the communal life that dated back 1000 years and more.
Copies of the two volume work will be given to the members of Congress to present to an institution in their constituency. CD’s of the books will be made available for worldwide distribution. A website is being developed with the book and additional new material. http://www.germansynagogues.com/
