In Berlin, while commemorating the Night of the November Pogroms on 9 November 1938, Christoph Heubner, the Executive Vice President of the International Auschwitz Committee said:

“During these days, Holocaust survivors around the globe are remembering the night of 9 to 10 November 1938, when throughout the so-called German Reich organized anti-Semitic hatred ran riot in the streets. A raging mob joined up with SA men and their willing helpers: synagogues and shops owned by Jewish people were set on fire, destroyed and plundered. Jewish people were herded through the streets, being insulted, beaten and kicked in front of the very eyes of their neighbours.

To this day, the most horrifying memory for Jewish survivors of that night of terror is the complacency displayed by the majority of their neighbours – something that haunts them even now. It is for this reason in particular that they continue to stand up against the flare-ups of anti-Semitic hatred and the murderous violence that it generates in Germany, Austria, France and other countries.

The fact that this anti-Semitic hatred is feeding on right-wing extremist and Islamist sources that are mutually stimulating each other, is just as disconcerting for the survivors of the Holocaust as the anti-Semitic conspiracy lies that are finding sympathetic listeners at current demonstrations. Consequently, the 9 November 1938 is not simply a historical day of remembrance noted in the calendar, it is a call to constantly defend democracy and tolerance against hatred and complacency.”