Five Towns remembers tragic night

Lawrence resident Avi Feldman was just 6 when the Nazis wreaked havoc on his hometown of Kiev, Germany on the eve of Nov. 9, 1938.

A little more than three-quarters of a century later, Feldman attended a Five Towns Community Commemoration of Kristallnacht, held Monday at Kehillas Bais Yehuda Tzvi in Cedarhurst.

Kristallnacht, “The Night of Broken Glass,” took place 76 years ago. Nearly 200 synagogues were destroyed, more than 8,000 Jewish shops were sacked and looted, and tens of thousands of Jews were removed to concentration camps from Germany and Austria. More than 90 Jews were killed. It is considered the beginning of the Holocaust.

Alan Jay Gerber, the event’s chairman, opened the event with introductory remarks. Rabbi Yaakov Feitman, who was born in a displaced persons camp to Holocaust survivors, addressed the audience on the importance of commemorating the tragic event.

“It is the deepest of our tragedies and we must not forget it,” Gerber said. 

David Klein read an emotional poem written by his mother about Holocaust remembrance. Guest speaker Dr. Sheldon Hersh, the author of “Our Frozen Tears,” a collection of stories from Holocaust survivors, noted the events leading up to Kristallnacht and the Holocaust, and how anti-Semitism continues.

“We must realize how truly close they came to achieving their goals,” he said regarding the Nazis’ plans to exterminate the Jews.

Hersh also recounted various incidents of anti-Semitism across the globe this past summer in Europe. “It’s the same script, just different actors,” he said in reference to modern-day anti-Semitism. 

He made a point of how important it is to remember the Holocaust and educate future generations. This is what motivated him to interview survivors and document their stories in his book. “Our history is a living history,” he said. “Even if we wanted to forget, I promise you, our enemies will never let us forget.”