Community Kristallnacht commemorations

On Kristallnacht (“the Night of Broken Glass”), Nov. 9-10, 1938, a series of coordinated pogroms spread throughout Germany and Austria. The wave of violent attacks against synagogues, Jews, and their homes and businesses is generally regarded as the start of the Holocaust.

The following are among the events being held in commemoration: 

THURSDAY, Nov. 5
The Holocaust Council of Greater MetroWest’s annual Kristallnacht Commemoration will take place in the Wilf Memorial on the Aidekman campus in Whippany at noon followed at 12:30 by a Lunch & Learn with survivor Jack Griffel. Call 973-929-3194 or visit jfedgmw.org/holocaust.

SUNDAY, Nov. 8
The Office of the Governor, the NJ Commission on Holocaust Education, and Rider University sponsor the State of New Jersey Kristallnacht Commemoration Remembrance Services at Rider University Chapel, Lawrenceville, 3 p.m. Free and open to the public. Call 877-900-6960 or visit state.nj.us/education/holocaust.

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Hoaxocaust, a satirical play about Holocaust denial, will be performed at Temple Beth Ahm Yisrael in Springfield, 7 p.m. Tickets are available at hoaxocaust.brownpapertickets.com; contact 973-376-0539 or tbaynj.org. 

Survivor Fred Heyman, subject of the film Be An Upstander, will speak at Adath Shalom in Morris Plains, 7 p.m. Contact 973-539-8549 or visit adathshalom.net.

MONDAY, Nov. 9 
Once Upon A Family: The Saga of Polish Jewry, a documentary, will be shown at Congregation Etz Chaim in Livingston, 7:30 p.m. Contact 718-948-6377 or info@projectwitness.org.

TUESDAY, Nov. 10 
Stephen Eric Bronner, professor of political science at Rutgers University, will discuss “Organized Chaos: Remembering Kristallnacht” in Room 138 of Hickman Hall on the New Brunswick campus, 5:35 p.m. Contact 973-353-1260 or ncas.rutgers.edu/cghr.

THURSDAY, Nov. 12
The Drew University Center for Holocaust/Genocide Study will hold a conference, “From Nuremberg to The Hague: The Evolution of War Crimes Trials,” at the Dorothy Young Center for the Arts on its Madison campus, 8:30 a.m.-3 p.m. Contact 973-408-3600 or visit drew.edu/chs/wp-content/uploads/sites/56/Conference-Cover-and-Agenda-2015.pdf.

FRIDAY, Nov. 13
Survivor Gerda Bikales will speak at Temple Har Shalom, Warren, 7:30 p.m. Contact 732-356-8777 or visit templeharshalom.org.

Janet R. Kirchheimer will present Kristallnacht: The Daughter of a Survivor, talking about her father, Julius, who was arrested and sent to Dachau during Kristallnacht, at Temple Beth Ahm Yisrael in Springfield, 8 p.m. Contact 973-376-0539 or visit tbaynj.org.

Annual Shabbat Kristallnacht Commemoration, a night of memory and reflection featuring music from the Holocaust, Temple Emanu-El, Livingston, 8 p.m. Call 973-992-5560 or visit emanuel.org/caring/holocaust.

SUNDAY, Nov. 22
Survivor Ed Bindel will speak at Temple Har Shalom in Warren, 9:15 a.m.-10:45 a.m. Contact 732-356-8777 or visit templeharshalom.org.