Dear Fellow Marcher,
My name is Jimmy Garber. I am a second generation participant of the March of the Living. I took part in the March of the Living in 2011 with the Mexican delegation and this year I am a student in Israel. As I’m sure the rest of you can relate, the March of the Living experience was one of the most impactful and meaningful times of my life and has had great influence on who I am today.
Tomorrow (November 9) marks the 80th year anniversary of Kristallnacht, when Nazis in Germany vandalized Jewish homes, businesses and synagogues and murdered members of the Jewish community with the full cooperation of the authorities and the police. “The Night of the Broken Glass” is considered by many as the official start of the Holocaust.
A view of a Jewish-run shop in Germany, after being vandalized by Nazis and covered with anti-Semitic graffiti, on Nov. 10, 1938.
We must remember the fateful events of that night and pledge to never let them happen again. Indeed, we are facing a world where anti-Semitism is on the rise, especially in the wake of the most recent attack on the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and in other countries in Europe and the rest of the world.
We have the responsibility to be the “witnesses for the witnesses.” We stood on the sacred grounds of Auschwitz -Birkenau, surrounded by survivors, and pledged to do our part to ensure a future where such atrocities could never happen again.
Now is the time for us to call out to the world, share our experiences, and speak for those who can no longer speak for themselves.
I urge us all to remember the events of Kristallnacht and do our part to make the world a better place.
As alumni of the March of the Living, I ask you to please share this message with your fellow alumni, your family and friends.
Jimmy Garber
March of the Living Mexico 2011
Want to share your thoughts?
We would love to hear from you!
Please click on the links below to learn more about Kristallnacht, “The Night of Broken Glass:”
• This is Not the Story of Someone Else: Interview with Miriam Ron, Firsthand witness to the Events of Kristallnacht
• Online Kristallnacht Exhibition created by Yad Vashem, the Holocaust Memorial Museum in Israel
• Riots Of Kristallnacht – Reinhard Heydrich’s Instructions, November 1938: English translation of the instructions for the SS on how to behave the night of Kristallnacht
