On November 9 - 10, 1938, Nazis burned synagogues, looted Jewish homes and businesses and murdered individuals in a nationwide pogrom called Kristallnacht (“Night of Broken Glass”).

In memory of this tragic event, Seton Hill University held its annual Kristallnacht Interfaith Service of Remembrance on November 6 in St. Joseph’s Chapel from 6:00 to 7:00 p.m.

This year’s guest speaker was Eric Blaustein of Pittsburgh. Blaustein was born in Chemnitz, Germany and grew up under Nazi persecution. He was liberated from Buchenwald in 1945 by the U. S. Army. Blaustein spoke about his experiences during Kristallnacht and the events that transpired around it.

“It’s one thing to pick up a book and read about the Holocaust and to see pictures. It’s another thing to actually listen to someone talk about their own personal experience and to see their face,” said Katrina Stokum, a senior.

Other guests included Holocaust survivors Jack Sittsamer, Shulamit Bastacky, Sam Weinreb and Robert Mendler.



“The survivors said that it was such a pleasant, and almost shocking, surprise to hear Hebrew words and prayers uttered in a Catholic church and how it was something that would never have happened when they were in school,” said Ryan Gephart, a junior. “It was really an experience to talk with those who survived some of the darkest times in man's history.”

“I feel that the Kristallnacht Remembrance Ceremony is necessary, not only to remember those who experienced the Holocaust and to learn from their experience, but also to raise awareness of what happened and try to prevent it from happening again,” said Stokum.

As part of the ceremony, students read passages from Liturgies on the Holocaust by Marcia Sachs Littrell, and the Shoah Memorial Service developed by The Council of Christians and Jews. Students also lit six candles as a symbol of hope and peace and in memory of the six million Jews who died during the Holocaust

“Through the lighting of the candles and the readings, we try to understand the emotions, the horrors and the experiences that help us to realize that we need to learn about these events so we can prevent them from happening again,” said Andrea Perkins, a senior. “The Kristallnacht Remembrance Ceremony is a continual reminder of how powerful the Holocaust was and how it affected those who lived through it.”