Posted on November 10, 2025
Close to 800 people gathered in Sydney for the NSW Jewish Board of Deputies’ annual Kristallnacht commemoration, an evening that powerfully linked a notorious moment of the Nazi pogrom with the subsequent act of rescue. The event, themed “From Kristallnacht to Kindertransport”, was a moving reflection on memory, compassion, and resilience.
Dane Stern, chair of the Shoah Remembrance Committee, captured the evening’s duality, saying, “Out of the ashes of Kristallnacht came an extraordinary act of light, the Kindertransport,” reminding attendees that courage can emerge even in despair. Kristallnacht saw over 200 synagogues burned and 7,000 Jewish businesses vandalised in November 1938, leading directly to the British effort that saved nearly 10,000 Jewish children.