including a lecture by Prof. Peter Seibert
In the days around November 9, 1938, state-orchestrated and publicly accepted pogroms against Jewish citizens took place throughout the German Reich, including in our district.
The anti-Semitic press campaign in these November days prepared the ground for the unrestricted violence against Jewish people and for the controlled destruction of Jewish institutions - synagogues and prayer rooms, cemeteries, homes, stores and business premises.
Anti-Semitism, which had been state doctrine since 1933 and which justified the social exclusion of all Jews, turned into persecution that led to extermination. These events, known as the November pogroms, were the beacon for everything that was to follow. The events were a catastrophe for the civic existence and consciousness of many Jewish citizens. They should remain in our memory as a warning to ensure that such injustice is never repeated in our country.
This memorial service is being held to commemorate and remind us of these events.