Kristallnacht marks the beginning of the end, leading to the destruction of European Jewry. It was a nation-wide pogrom of looting and beatings in which synagogues were destroyed and cemeteries desecrated. It was an event that shattered the hopes of a future for Jews in Germany and Austria, those who could then fled. It was a lot more than crystal that was shattered on that night.
I would like to share my family’s story with you.
My grandfather as a child
My grandfather was born in Berlin in 1925, and named Norbert, or Natan. His father was a textile merchant, and his mother a housewife. They lived in a suburb of Berlin in an apartment opposite the Grunewald synagogue. In September 1938 he celebrated his Bar Mitzvah there. The warden of the synagogue, Isidore, whose daughter would go on to marry Norbert, had donated the Torah scroll that he read from.
On a Thursday morning, November 10, less than two months later, my grandfather woke up at 7 AM. He walked into the front room of his apartment and he saw the synagogue engulfed in flames. He ran to his father’s bedroom and shouted, “The synagogue’s burning!” His father immediately called the fire brigade. The fire brigade
Isidore Dobrin looking over the Torah scroll he had just donated in Berlin.
responded that they were already informed, but had orders from higher authorities not to intercede. The synagogue was razed to the ground. In the 1950s the ruins were cleared and made into a residential building which still stands today.
But not everything was destroyed in the flames. When the caretaker of the synagogue noticed the fire he managed to save the Torah scrolls, wrap them up in blankets, and take them to Isidore’s house. A few days after Kristallnacht, at the risk of punishment, my grandfather managed to salvage a few prayer books from the charred remains as well.
My grandfather’s father had to hide in their maid’s house for over two weeks after Kristallnacht in order to avoid being sent to a concentration camp. He realized they needed to leave Germany.
Isidore was deported to Auschwitz and the fate of the saved Torah scrolls remains unknown.
Although they then managed to escape to Britain, the fires of Kristallnacht spread to consume millions of Jews in Europe. In 1943 Isidore, the warden, in whose house the Torah scrolls were hidden, managed to send his daughter on the Kindertransport, and she then married Norbert in 1963. However, later that year Isidore was deported to Auschwitz, where he perished, and the fate of the saved Torah scrolls remains unknown.
Seventy years later, Isidore’s grandson, my uncle, commissioned a Torah scroll to be written on the occasion of his son’s Bar Mitzvah, to ‘replace’ the one lost. Seven years later he took the scroll to Berlin and Auschwitz, before returning it back to Jerusalem.
My grandfather in old age
This story taught me that even though we have lost so much, we must strive to build what was lost. Like our sages state in Ethics of the Fathers, “It is not your duty to finish the work, but neither are you free to desist from it.” Although rebuilding everything we lost is impossible, we can never stop trying.
Seventy-six years ago the Germans pillaged and then set fire to our synagogues, burning them to the ground. But the only fire that continues to flicker is ours. The only flame burning in our synagogues is the eternal flame, the ner tamid, which stands over the Holy Ark, a fire that “will never be extinguished.”
P.S. Last year my grandfather, Norbert, attended a ceremony that marked the 75 anniversary of Kristallnacht. Attending it were 24 German-Jewish refugees, who had witnessed Kristallnacht with their own eyes. This year there will be only 23. My grandfather, who bore witness to the Nazi’s rise to power, is no longer in this world. He carried the burden of remembering his past; now we have the responsibility of carrying it forward to future generations to ensure it is never forgotten.
(13) Anonymous, August 26, 2020 11:20 PM
Yesher Koach!
Fantastic article, beautifully written.
(12) Dvora, October 28, 2018 1:14 AM
Kristallnicht
My Bubbe barely survived Kristallnicht she was beaten so badly. Her brother, my Uncle Sidney who raised me, brought her to the United States along with my Mother, then 2 and they were settled in Philadelphia. My great Uncle lived in Brooklyn Heights, N.Y. It was Bubbe who saved me. She had a massive heart attack when Doctors told her I would not pull thru but I did. Blessed by the hands and heart of Bubbe and of Hashem. My Uncle made sure I would never forget and I did not forget. He picked me up when I was discharged and I lived with him. We ALL know what the Nazi's did and the destruction they caused but how many of us can tell a sociopath by the tone of their voice? Best learn because there is certainly not much time left for us.
(11) Ben, October 26, 2018 5:00 PM
This Shows Evil Falsehead of Comparisan to Israel
This is anotrher example showing those evil intenders that call Israel the new Nazis. In all of Israel and the West Bank there are many Mosques and people are free to go and worship there.
On the OTHER HAND JEWS are not allowed to live in PAlestinian controlled areas AND Jordanians and Palestinians destroyed Synagogues in Old Jerusalem in 1948 and Palestinians ransacked Josephs tomb in Nablus with pick axes and set it ablaze. If anything the Palestinians are closer!
(10) Simcha, October 25, 2018 10:38 PM
Response to Article!
This is a beautifully written story written from your heart about a man who endured a very difficult life. Cherish the memories of your grandfather A'H. Keep an album of all old photos of family members. Tell these stories about your grandparents, great-grandparents, etc. to your children. It is the most precious possession for generations to come.
(9) Anonymous, November 12, 2014 6:29 PM
Not all Germans were villians
Just to let everyone know a few things, my family is of German descent. We had relatives living in Germany at the time of Hitler and they were not of the Nazi party. Not all Germans were of the NAZI PARTY and it is totally unfair and disrespectful of anyone to associate all Germans with the murders and atrocities of the Jews and that war. Many German families hid Jews in their homes risking great danger to themselves and their families. Many of these Germans were criticized, humiliated and shunned and were also severely punished for not joining the party. My family knew of good German soldiers who brought food (scraps from the Army kitchen) and neighbors who brought what little they had, to their home so that they could survive, providing some food for them and the people they hid. Their homes were subject to constant searches at all hours of the day and night simply because they were not in the Nazi party. So I wish that everyone, Jews and Gentile alike, would kindly stop referring to the German people as murderers of the Jews. And lastly, please remember, there are good and bad in all races, creeds, colors, and religions. It has reached the point that we are afraid to say we are German Jews but we speak Yiddish so we say we are Jewish, to try to steer us away from our heritage. But we all know about our true German heritage. Let's do as God told us "to love the Lord your God with all your heart, strength and mind, and to Love your neighbor as yourself". Let's start to Love everyone, stop blaming others, be respectful of all and have true peace in our hearts. Maybe then, just then, there will be Peace on Earth.
Face The Truth, October 26, 2018 3:48 PM
Not all But Germany as a Country Was Responsable
You can say there were Gewrmans that helped Jews and were not evil. You can say there were many - assuming you have Statistical Data. Those that were helping the persecuted certainly have nothing to be ashamed of. And people of the new generation are not guilty. But the German armed forces and police have engaged in the worst atrocities in history against defenseless millions of men, women and children just because of their having a different religoun! Murdering millions including babies and the elderly, men and women. And there was mass hstrical support of Hitler as seen at his rallies on film. 6 Milion Jews are dead and the survivors lost often most of their families and whle cities had their Jewish populations liquidated so there is a need to remember by the Jewish people who recall their long history. Currently Germany does happen to be a big ally of Israel.
(8) RUTH KAHN, November 10, 2014 4:24 PM
I WAS A WITNESS TOO.
REMEMBER IT WELL LIVING IN FRANKFURT AT THIS TIME.
TODAY IS THE DAY I WILL NEVER FORGET TO HAVE SEEN OUR
SYNAGOGUE GO UP IN FLAMES- FRIEDBERGER ANLAGE.
(7) Anonymous, November 10, 2014 4:30 AM
Kol Hakavod for such a beautiful and thought provoking article. I'm sure your grandfather would be proud.
(6) Cena Glass, November 10, 2014 3:47 AM
Thank you for sharing.
Great uncles and aunt witnessed that night first hand. My great grandfather moved to US at turn of century.
(5) J. R. Hochstedt, November 10, 2014 3:22 AM
It also falls to those of us of German lineage, even if like my family they had emigrated many decades before, to take responsibility for remembrance since this was done under the pretext of the good of German people.
(4) Em, November 9, 2014 10:40 PM
Thank you. Somehow, these days we are seeing that remembering the holocaust is not enough to prevent another one G-d forbid. Now its the arabs/muslim and their western supporters and sadly the misguided israeli government and judges who are not acting strong and firm to keep Israel secure. They are doing crazy things like not allowing idf soldiers to defend themselves. Our only hope is G-d himself. Cant even rely on our own people anymore.
(3) Calvin R Murphy II, November 9, 2014 5:30 PM
#NeverAgain
May the day come soon when real peace, real understanding and real joy overtakes the evil that has ruled the earth far too long.
Baruh dayan emet.
(2) Jackie S., November 9, 2014 5:10 PM
Remembering Kristallnacht
Thank you for this article. Last night, as I went to bed, I imagined myself watching the synagogue burn on Kristallnacht. Born in the U.S. in 1952, I have no direct experience in my family of that event, but it lives in me, all the same.
(1) Shlomo Noren, November 9, 2014 4:19 PM
Very glad you shared this
What a powerful, moving and inspiring recount.