The commemoration of the night of the pogrom suddenly has an oppressive reality

“More than 1,000 murdered. Devastation and arson. Families – brutally torn apart. I could be talking about November 9, 1938 – the Reichspogromnacht,” is how the President of the Central Council of Jews, Josef Schuster, begins his speech at the central commemoration of the 85th anniversary. Anniversary of Kristallnacht. “But I could also speak about the pogrom of our time; about the cruel terror of Hamas on October 7, 2023. The descriptions are similar.”

On the night of November 9, 1938, the National Socialists began a wave of violence against Jews across the country, which ultimately resulted in the Holocaust, the murder of six million Jews. The commemoration of that night has an overwhelming relevance this Thursday, 85 years later, as can be seen by many of the guests in the Berlin synagogue Beth Zion. Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz are invited, as are Israeli Ambassador Ron Prosor, Holocaust survivor Margot Friedländer and relatives of Hamas hostages in the Gaza Strip.

The building into which the Central Council of Jews invited people is evidence of this: During the Kristallnacht pogrom, National Socialists looted and devastated the synagogue on Brunnenstrasse in the center of Berlin. 85 years later, just a few days after Hamas’ terrorist attack on Jews in Israel, masked men threw Molotov cocktails at the building.

Schuster: “Something has gotten out of hand”

Jews are once again afraid in the country where “never again” is supposed to apply. The Chancellor also took up this threat and condemned hatred against Jews as a “disgrace” in his speech. This outrages and embarrasses him deeply, said Scholz.

Schuster summarizes the situation in Germany with the sentence: “Something has gotten out of hand.” Scholz agrees: If doors and walls were smeared with Stars of David today, Hamas terrorists were celebrated and incendiary devices were thrown at the synagogue on Brunnenstrasse, something would indeed go awry.

What to do? One must admit that in recent years anti-Semitism has “hidden behind closed doors” and penetrated into the middle of society, says Schuster. He points to “a parallel in mentality” among radical Islamists and right-wing extremists and also castigates the contempt for lessons from history that he senses among left-wing extremist and left-wing circles.

Schuster acknowledges that today, unlike 85 years ago, Jewish life is protected in Germany. But he also emphasizes that they don’t want to live behind “protective shields”. “We want to live freely in Germany, in our country, live freely in this open society.” He has this wish – and he won’t let it be taken away from him.

Olaf Scholz deviates from the speech manuscript

For Scholz, in addition to protecting Jewish institutions, it is also about ensuring that the police and judiciary enforce applicable law. The insight into Germany’s historical responsibility must also be passed on, “in schools, universities, in training, in integration courses, in everyday life” – so that those in Germany as an immigration country can also be reached “in whose countries of origin the Shoah was not spoken about or was spoken about completely differently becomes”.

It is important for Scholz to signal that his government is moving forward politically. He points out that with a planned new nationality law, the government is “very clearly” regulating “that anti-Semitism is an obstacle to naturalization.” As if to emphasize his commitment once again, the Chancellor even deviates from the prepared speech manuscript, which is rather unusual for him. It is important, Scholz adds, to be consistent in what you do. “That’s why everyone needs to know: anti-Semitism, anyone who does it also risks their immigration status.” It almost sounds like a warning.

Scholz brought another message with him: He warns of general suspicion against Muslims. One should not “fall for the trap of those who now see their chance to blanketly deny over five million Muslim citizens their place in our society,” says the Chancellor.