Annual Kristallnacht Commemoration at Temple David

A speech given by 2 young congregants, Sara and Phoebe of Temple David, WA, at the Kristallnacht  commemoration on Sunday 9th November, in Perth.

“We all know about Kristallnacht the night of the broken glass. A dark moment in history where Jewish shops and synoguoges were destroyed across Germany. I was lucky my family was not directly affected by it but while learning about it I wanted to really understand what it felt like. So instead of talking about the facts I tried to imagine myself there in 1938

It’s November 9th 1938. The air feels heavy tonight, colder than usual. I hear shouting outside, angry voices echo through the streets. I peak through the curtain and my heart drops . There’s glass everywhere . The shop down the road has been smashed to pieces. Men in uniforms are marching , their boots strike the ground in rhythm. I hear laughter mixed with screams. ‘’Death to Jews’’ someone yells as a stone crashes against another window and I can smell smoke sharp and bitter as flames rise from the synagogue down the road. The torah and our sacred books are being thrown out of windows and burned in the streets. I see families running, clutching their children trying to hide in the shadows. I’m terrified my heart is pounding and I’m anxious. With every crash and shout I hear I flinch. What if my home is next?

Tonight the world has changed. We’ve been pushed out of society, blamed for everything and treated as if we’re not human and the streets that once felt like home now are filled with hatred

And then again on October 7th it happened again. Once more Jewish lives were taken simply for being Jewish. I think about those in 1938 , hearing the shouts and hated outside and hearing those similar ones at rally’s and marches yelling violence against jews. Someone once asked me why I never told anyone I was Jewish until now and the answer was simple – fear and that should never be anyone reality. People say never again and yet here we are hearing the same words of hatred echo throughout time.

And yet we walk through the smoke and away from the fire. We are still here today still thriving, still living, still proud. The Jewish people are resilient. We hold onto hope for peace, for unity and for a world where no one has to hide who they are. Because no matter what Am Yisrael chai – the people of Israel still live.”