Obama: 75th Kristallnacht anniversary a reminder of what silence in face of hatred can bring
US president marks tragedy of 1938 pogrom calling for world to denounce anti-Semitism, intolerance.
By JPOST.COM STAFFKristallnacht stickers in Germany 370(photo credit: REUTERS)
US President Barack Obama marked the 75th anniversary of Kristallnacht on Friday, saying that the 1938 pogrom in which Nazis burned synagogues and murdered Jews across Germany was an example of what silence in the face of hatred can bring.“I join millions of people in the United States and around the world in marking the 75th anniversary of the tragedy of Kristallnacht – “the Night of Broken Glass,” Obama said.“On November 9 and 10, 1938, Nazi paramilitaries marched under the cover of darkness throughout the towns and villages of Germany and Austria smashing Jewish storefronts, arresting Jewish men en masse, ransacking Jewish homes, burning books and littering the streets with the parchment of sacred Judaic texts,” he said.“As we mark this anniversary, let us act in keeping with the lessons of that dark night by speaking out against anti-Semitism and intolerance, standing up to indifference, and recommitting ourselves to combatting prejudice and persecution wherever it exists. In so doing, we honor the memories of those killed and reaffirm that timeless call: ‘Never Again,’” he said.
