Kristallnacht remembered throughout Holocaust conference
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The 31st Greater Lafayette Holocaust Remembrance Conference will reflect on Kristallnacht during this year’s event.
Kristallnacht marks the night of Nov. 9, 1938, when Nazis shattered windows during the widespread burning and destruction of synagogues and Jewish-owned homes and shops in a series of attacks throughout Nazi Germany and parts of Austria. That night marked the beginning of the Holocaust.
The conference, which is free and open to the public, will take place Nov. 13-15 in Krannert Auditorium on Purdue's campus. Registration begins Sunday (Nov. 13) at 1:30 p.m. For more information and a full list of events, visit https://www.glhrc.org
Proclamations by Lafayette Mayor Tony Roswarski and West Lafayette Mayor John Dennis will open the event at 2 p.m., followed by a candle lighting by local Holocaust survivors and children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren of survivors.
Conference events include a discussion of Kristallnacht by local Holocaust survivors, lectures on Holocaust survivors and a talk on the Little Rock Nine, students who went against prejudices at Little Rock Central High School to become friends with African-American students.
The goals of the GLHRC are not only to continue to raise awareness of the Nazis’ war against the Jews and honor the victims and survivors of the Holocaust, but also to promote individual, community and media responsibility for combating the forces of ignorance, hatred and prejudice today.
The conference is sponsored by the Diocese of Lafayette, St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Center, Hillel Foundation, Jewish Federation of Greater Lafayette, College of Education, College of Liberal Arts, department of history and the Jewish studies program, James F. Ackerman Center for Democratic Citizenship, Sons of Abraham synagogue, Temple Israel, University Religious Leaders and West Lafayette Public Library.
Writer: Rebekah Piotrowicz, 765-496-3006, rpiotrow@purdue.edu
Source: Susan Prohofsky, conference co-chair, 765-463-1980, sue@glhrc.org