World makes effort to remember Night of Broken Glass
The Kristallnacht is also called The Night of Broken Glass. In addition to the raids of Jewish buildings, around 3,000 Jews were taken captive to concentration camps. Europe is mourning their dark past and respecting all those who died.
Late in the night, in Germany and Austria, terror arose. On the night of Nov. 9 and Nov. 10 in 1938, Kristallnacht took place. This was a series of attacks on Jewish shops, buildings, and synagogues in addition to the arrest of thousands of Jews.
Kristallnacht directly translates into “Crystal Night”, referring to the broken windows and shattered glass that shone in the moonlight.
“Historians consider Kristallnacht as marking the beginning of the end for Europe’s Jewish community, six million members of which died during the ensuing Holocaust,” Chicago Tribune said.
Just passing the anniversary of the horrible night has sprung the remembrance and many people are giving tributes as well as have given tributes in the past.
“Shop owners of today are remembering the shop owners of that time,” Nils Busch-Petersen from the Berlin-Brandenberg Trade Association said.
Busch-Petersen is talking about “The Broken Windows Project” which was in effect for the 75th Anniversary of Kristallnacht. Approximately 100 stores around Berlin put shattered glass decals in their window to remember the Crystal Night.
“The stores aren’t saying ‘we are victims’. The German retail industry was deeply influenced by Jewish people, and so we have many reasons to remind people of their role,” Busch-Petersen said.
