Synagogues around the world to remember Kristallnacht by keeping their lights on

More than 1,000 synagogues and Jewish institutions worldwide are expected to leave their lights burning overnight Monday to mark the 88th anniversary of Kristallnacht, as part of an ongoing Israeli initiative.

The annual “Spread the Light” campaign aims to commemorate the Nazi pogrom of November 9-10, 1938, when Jewish homes, businesses and institutions across Germany and Austria were attacked, hundreds of Jews were killed and thousands were sent to concentration camps. Historians view the pogrom as a precursor to the Holocaust.

Participants are encouraged to photograph their illuminated buildings and share the images on social media with the hashtag #SpreadtheLight.

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It is not exactly clear how many institutions participated last year, but it was at least 1,000, said Dalia Yohanan, who coordinates the project through her organization, Or Dolek. The project is jointly led by the Religious Kibbutz Movement and Yad Vashem.

“The night of Kristallnacht was a clear turning point for the Nazis in their quest to destroy the Jews,” Yohanan said. “After that, they saw that they could do anything they wanted and the world would be silent.”

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The idea for the initiative was launched in 2008, for the 70th anniversary of Kristallnacht, by Rabbi Yechiel Wasserman, head of the Center for Religious Affairs in the Diaspora in the World Zionist Organization.

“This was before social media, and it was a small project that didn’t get a lot of publicity at the time,” said Yohanan. “They weren’t going to move forward with the project, so I took it on myself to continue.”

Yohanan described how her father, Naftali (Kurt) Wertheim, survived Kristallnacht as a boy by hiding under a table as neighbors threw stones at his family’s windows. Soon after, Wertheim was sent by his parents on a Kindertransport rescue to Britain, saving his life while they were killed by the Nazis. Wertheim later settled in Israel and joined the kibbutz movement.

“When he saw the lights on in synagogues the night they started this project, he was overwhelmed with emotion,” Yohanan said. “He said it was such a beautiful sight to see the lights of the synagogue burning all night long.”

Today, Yohanan said, the anniversary of Kristallnacht is a time to celebrate the strengthening of Jewish identity, especially in a post-October 7 world fraught with fear and growing antisemitism. She insists that, unlike other Holocaust memorial days, the focus of this day is on learning, not mourning.

“Many communities are afraid to shine their light externally, for fear of being seen by others,” she said. “This is our way of strengthening our brothers around the world and saying ‘We are with you.'”

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