Last night, I attended, with my brother-in-law and two older nephews, a commemoration of the 70th anniversary of Kristallnacht. It took place in New City, outside the front steps at the Rockland County Court House. Here is a picture:

Kristallnacht - Rockland County Courthouse in New City

Kristallnacht (wiki definition) took place November 9–10, 1938 in Berlin, Germany. This night, 92 Jews were murdered and 25,000–30,000 were arrested and deported to concentration camps. 200 synagogues were destroyed, as were thousands of Jewish businesses and homes. It was really the start of moving from political, economic and psychological discrimination to actual physical discrimination and abuse, which was all part of the Holocaust. As Wikipedia says, it "marked the beginning of the systematic eradication of a people," and "served as a prelude to the Holocaust that was to follow."

At this commemoration, Henry Schindler, now 82, spoke to the crowd of people. As the Journal News reports:

At one point, Schindler said, a crowd ransacked a local synagogue and made a bonfire of its prayer books. A man trying to save a Torah scroll during the incident was beaten, then his beard and sidelocks were cut off by some Hilter Youths.

"And that I think was something that I still remember today," Schindler told the group, which held candles during the chilly night.

Kristallnacht also proved a precursor for what would happen to Schindler himself. Two years later, he was required to start wearing a yellow star with the word "Jude" on it. Four years from that first night, he would be sent to a concentration camp.

In any event, it was a memorable evening. I was able to take a picture of my Rabbi, Rabbi Josh Blass, of my synagogue speaking at the event. The picture above, shows a portion of the crowd in attendance.