Kristallnacht remembered in Netherlands tonight; National commemoration in Amsterdam

Kristallnacht commemorations will be happening throughout the Netherlands tonight, with the national commemoration happening in the Portuguese Synagogue in Amsterdam. The organizers are feeling the impact of the war between Israel and Hamas, mainly in increased interest in the commemorations. But some have had to adjust their program, NOS reports.

Kristallnacht, called the Night of Broken Glass in English, is considered the start of the mass persecution of the Jews in the Second World War. During the night of 9 to 10 November 1938, the Nazis attacked the Jewish community all over Germany, destroying hundreds of synagogues, shops, and homes. Many German Jews were arrested, assaulted, and murdered. The name Kristallnacht comes from the glass that littered the streets afterward.

There is enormous interest in the national commemoration in Amsterdam, Dave Heilbron, master of ceremonies at the commemoration in the Portuguese Synagogue, told NOS. “The number of registrations has never been so high. Unfortunately, we could not admit more people,” he said. “There are 850 seats. We really had to say ‘no.’ For safety reasons, you cannot let people stand.”

Heilbron attributes the increased interest to the war between Israel and Hamas. “People are extremely involved. They want to support the Jewish Dutch in this time of threats and war.” Deputy Prime Minister Sigrid Kaag will also attend. “We invited her months ago. Partly because she is Deputy Prime Minister, but also because of her personal situation, with the threats against her and her husband, who is Palestinian. That topic has now only become more urgent.”

Commemorations in other cities also noted increased enthusiasm.

“Over the past 20 years, there has always been a lot of interest in this commemoration, but this year, the hall was sold out in two days. You notice that the current situation moves people,” said Wiel Lenders, director of the Freedom Museum Groesbeek, where the Kristallnacht commemoration is taking place.

Journalist Frits Barend will be the main guest and speaker in the Freedom Museum tonight. He was born in 1947 into a Jewish family and will tell his family’s story during and after the Second World War. “The dramatic events in the Middle East now and the Holocaust history of the past are completely incomparable,” Lenders stressed to NOS. “Tonight should only be about Kristallnacht.”

There is also a commemoration at the Jewish monument in Utrecht tonight. “I am asked about it more often than in previous years,” organizer Joop Spoor of the Utrechts Beraad Kerk en Israel told NOS. “The question is, of course, how many people will actually come, but I expect a larger turnout, especially from the Jewish community.”

In other cities, the organizers adjusted the commemoration program. In Breda, the Kristallnacht commemoration program was spread over four days, and the memorial planned at the Jewish Monument in Wilhelmina Park was canceled. The Jewish community organized the memorial. “They indicated that they do not feel comfortable with the memorial moment in the park, and that's why we decided to cancel it,” Paul Kools of the organization behind the entire program said. “I would like to emphasize that there is no further reason, like a concrete threat.”

In Groningen, the synagogue canceled the silent march that traditionally precedes its commemoration. “We want to prevent people from mistaking this silent procession for a demonstration, which is not what it is,” director Geert Volders of the Folkingestraat Synagogue Foundation said. The commemoration took place on Sunday without incident.