Kristallnacht, Nov. 9-10, 1938.
VENTNOR - The Sara and Sam Schoffer Holocaust Resource Center will commemorate the 85th anniversary of Kristallnacht, the Night of Broken Glass, with the annual Kristallnacht Lecture 7 p.m. Monday, Nov. 6, in-person and via Zoom. The event will be held at Chabad at the Shore Chai Center, 6605 Atlantic Ave.
Michael Hayse, associate professor of History and Holocaust and Genocide Studies at Stockton University will speak about the experiences of Wally (nee Moritz) and Lutz Hammerschlag during and after Kristallnacht.
Kristallnacht, also known as the November Pogrom, was an organized two days of violence and destruction targeting Jews in Germany and previously annexed Austria on Nov. 9-10, 1938. During this pogrom, 1,408 synagogues and places of worship were destroyed, and 30,000 Jewish were arrested. The government, instead of protecting the Jews, encouraged citizens to commit this violence and vandalism.
In addition to Hayse, Lennard Hammerschlag, the son of Wally and Lutz, will speak. They will explore the aftermath of Kristallnacht. Like many Jews in Germany, Wally and Lutz realized they could no longer live safely in Germany and sought refuge in the only place they could secure a visa Rhodesia, which is Zimbabwe today.
An exhibition about their experiences was installed in the Chabad at the Shore synagogue in 2017. Since then, Lennard continues to meet with Germans who are working to document the Jewish history of the towns where his parents were born and to commemorate the horrors of the Holocaust.
This program is free and open to the public. It is especially relevant to students, educators, and anyone interested in learning more about the Holocaust and the experiences of German Jews.
New Jersey educators can receive two professional development hours. For more information and the Zoom link, call the Holocaust Resource Center at 609-652-4699 or email [email protected]
