Marking 85 years since the Kristallnacht pogrom, the International March of the Living today released testimonies of Holocaust survivors expressing how they feel afraid as Jews and calling for immediate help to fight the recent surge in antisemitism. The survivors, whose testimonies were collected since the Hamas terrorist attack on October 7, say the brutal attack echoed the horrors they witnessed during the Holocaust.
Holocaust survivor Manya Wallenfels said, “I think twice before I wear my Star of David. I am afraid to go to the synagogue,” while survivor Gabriella Karin added, “Never since the Holocaust are Jews so threatened.”
Maud Dahme, another survivor, noted, “The October 7 terror attack brought back so many memories of what I saw as a child.” Many of the survivors, out of fear for their own safety, were initially hesitant to speak out, worried that revealing their identities could place them in immediate danger.
On November 9, 1938, eighty-five years ago, Nazi paramilitary forces, along with German civilians, burned and vandalized over 1,400 Jewish homes, businesses, and synagogues. They murdered 91 Jews and arrested 30,000 Jewish men, sending them to concentration camps.
March of the Living head: The world has not learned the lessons of the Holocaust
International March of the Living Chair Dr. Shmuel Rosenman and President Phyllis Greenberg Heideman said: “Today we mark 85 years since the Kristallnacht pogrom and 30 days since the horrific pogrom of Hamas in Israel. The fact that Jews, children, women, elderly and men, entire families, were burned alive in their homes, in their beds, 85 years after the Kristallnacht pogrom is simply unimaginable.
"The world has clearly not learned the lessons of the Holocaust. Jews are once again being attacked all over the world. This cannot be tolerated. As an educational organization, our mission to educate against hatred and antisemitism is now more important than ever.”
This story was written in cooperation with the March of the Living.