Kristallnacht
Click image above to download.
By Cantor Benjamin Z. Maissner.
This November 9th and 10th marks the 75th anniversary of that horrific night known as Kristallnacht, the pogrom of burning hundreds of synagogues. This date also marks the beginning of the atrocities of the Shoah. My ties to the City of Hannover go back to my grandparents.
My maternal family, namely my Uncle, the famous Israel Alter, the last Oberkantor (Chief Cantor) of Hannover 1925–1935, is the reason I was invited to Hannover to participate in the official commemoration of this anniversary.
I will participate in the city-wide ceremonies as well as in suburbia around the city. My family from Israel and England will join me as we will also place the commemorative stones called “stolpersteine” in front of the homes of our family. This, too, will be carried out city-wide with school children attending and witnessing the marking of these horrific days.
The events will be simulcast throughout Germany on public television. Please click the accompanying image and you will download translations as well as original postings in German showing some of the sad scenes of the actual burning of the glorious Hannover Synagogue.
It will be my honour to represent Holy Blossom Temple as your cantor throughout these days in Europe both in Hannover and in Vienna.
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