By Alex Keisch
Each year, we gather to remember the horror of Kristallnacht. This was a night of wilding, of terror, of death and destruction inflicted on Jews by their neighbors and Hitler’s thugs, the Brownshirts. We remember this night of horror because it was the lynchpin event to the Shoah, the Holocaust.
The diabolical maniac, Adolf Hitler, had already enacted hundreds of laws limiting the ability of Jews to survive, much less live normal lives. But even that wasn’t enough for Hitler. He needed a critical mass of the German people supporting him, to fulfill his dream of world domination. Central to his dream was the annihilation of all peoples he considered, “untermensch.” The Jews topped the list, as Hitler considered us “life unworthy of living.”
A sect of Judaism says that 10 levels of prayer are needed to reach G-d; above all of these levels is song. Richmond musician Susan Greenbaum will bring her passion and faith to our Kristallnacht Remembrance Service on Nov. 6 at the Emek Sholom Holocaust Memorial Cemetery, in a song written generations ago to convey the message of joy, release, and determination, saying, “We are still here! Mir Zaynen Do!”
The November Reflector as well as e-news and social media will have more on the annual Service.