UC’s Hillel Jewish Student Center Leads Observance of 71st Anniversary of Kristallnacht

Every year, the Jewish Students at the University of Cincinnati mark the anniversary of Kristallnacht. Monday, Nov. 9, marks the 71st anniversary of the beginning of the Holocaust in Nazi Germany.

Students at the UC Hillel Jewish Student Center will begin observances at 6 p.m., Monday, Nov. 9, at the center, located at 2615 Clifton Ave. Students will light blue candles, to be placed around the UC campus, as they recite the names of those killed during the Holocaust. Students will also pass out yellow buttons with a piece of broken glass as a symbol of Kristallnacht, the “Night of Broken Glass.”

From noon-2 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 10, in front of Tangeman University Center, students will also be distributing the symbolic pieces of broken glass along with materials about the history of Kristallnacht. They will also continue reading names of victims of the Holocaust.

Kristallnacht, or the Night of Broken Glass, actually marks the turning point in the Nazi policy of isolating and disenfranchising Germany’s Jews.  During the nights of Nov. 9 and 10, 1938, at least 236 Jews were killed, more than 600 were permanently maimed, well over 500 synagogues were destroyed, and thousands of Jewish businesses and homes were vandalized, burned and robbed. 

In the next few days, 50,000 Jewish adults were arrested and transported to concentration camps, leaving some 50,000-75,000 children orphaned. The streets of Germany were ablaze using Torah scrolls, prayer books and holy objects to fuel the fires; everything was covered in the broken glass. The world stood silent as people watched this watershed event. These nights eventually led to the subsequent murder of six million European Jews.

Through the Kristallnacht observance, the UC/Hillel students aim to educate at least 1,000 other students about the Holocaust.