This past Wednesday, TABC commemorated the 84th anniversary of Kristallnacht. Kristallnacht marked the beginning of the end for the Jews of not only Germany, but all of Europe and was the first major government-sanctioned display of antisemitic violence against German Jews. The 15 seniors in TABC’s senior Holocaust Studies elective researched events in Germany that occurred in the years leading up to Kristallnacht and immediately following it. Under the guidance and direction of their teachers, Cary Reichardt and Rebecca Lopkin, the students scripted and acted out a 1930s radio newsroom featuring roving reporters in Europe reporting “live” on the latest events taking place in Germany and other European countries. As the student “reporters” described the events, historical photographs, newspaper headlines and actual video clips of those events were projected behind them. Both students and faculty in the audience were moved by the presentation.

Today, at a time when Jews are facing a troubling increase in antisemitism, the lessons from the Night of Broken Glass should resonate deeply. As one eyewitness to the November 9 pogrom in 1938 who was quoted in the students’ news report said, “Silence is what does the real harm.” Let us hope that the words “Never Forget” inspire action against antisemitism and all forms of unchecked hatred.