The light shines to remember a dark night

V THE walls of Coventry Cathedral were covered with words this week, to commemorate the anniversary of Kristallnacht, the two-day Nazi pogrom of 1938 in which more than 1,400 synagogues and Jewish institutions were burned and attacked. The #LetThereBeLight interfaith initiative was marked in dozens of countries around the world. Personal prayers and messages from the virtual campaign were projected on the walls of the cathedral, and the Old City of Jerusalem Hundreds of churches and mosques and synagogues pledged to keep their lights on as a unified symbol of light and hope against the backdrop of rising antisemitism, racism and hatred. Israel’s President Reuven Rivlin said, “While the ovens of the Nazi crematoria have long been extinguished, the flames that consumed Jewish houses of worship, homes and businesses on Kristallnacht burn to this day; flames of hatred and racism. My hope and prayer is that mankind will learn from history.” Eve Kugler was seven years old at the time of Kristallnacht in the German town of Halle, where just two years ago the synagogue was attacked. She said, “In the middle of the night five uniformed SS officers and the local police chief, trashed our apartment and led my father out of our home. The synagogue which my grandfather had established was torched and burned to the ground. Two years ago, I was absolutely horrified to hear about the violent antisemitic attack on Halle synagogue. I felt it was an attack on my own synagogue. I say “don’t be a bystander. It is your duty to speak up and act to make the world a better, safer, happier place.”