A Kristallnacht Commemoration will take place on Thursday, November 7, 5:00-7:00 pm, at the Bronfman Family Jewish Community Center, sponsored by the Jewish Federation of Greater Santa Barbara.

Join us as we honor the Holocaust Survivors of our community, remember the unthinkable, and commit to promoting tolerance and justice in our world.

Three local teens, Ethan Habecker, Talya Steinberg, and Matthew Wallock, will speak about their recent experiences in Poland and Israel. They will share with us how they have witnessed history and their hopes for taking those lessons with them as they move forward to make the world a better place.

Kristallnacht, the government-initiated and organized wave of violent anti-Jewish pogroms, took place across Germany and Austria on November 9 and 10, 1938. It marked a significant turning point in the tragic history of the Holocaust. 30,000 Jewish men and boys were arrested, and legislation intended to isolate and disenfranchise Jews dramatically increased after this date. Hundreds of synagogues, Jewish businesses and homes were destroyed and vandalized, and sacred books and ritual objects were smashed and ruined. Shattered glass was everywhere, so these events came to be known as “Kristallnacht” or “The Night of Broken Glass.”

In the words of our youth, it is important to commemorate this sad and horrifying event “to remember,” “so that it never happens again,” and “to stop discrimination” today.

Join us on November 7 to commemorate those we have lost, and remember that there is light and hope in an educated future, and in our young people, who will not let the world forget.

We will close with a candle-lighting ceremony for Holocaust Survivors, their families and community members. Local community member and Cantorial Soloist, Judy Karin, will participate and sing.

The event is free and open to all.

For more information or to RSVP, contact Portraits of Survival & Upstanders Exhibits Director, Ruth Dubin Steinberg, at 805-957-1115 x123 or rsteinberg@sbjf.org or http://www.jewishsantabarbara.org/Kristallnacht2013.aspx

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