During the days surrounding the 70th anniversary of Kristallnacht, B’nai B’rith Latin America commemorated the infamous pogrom that enveloped Europe on Nov. 9-10, 1938. Ceremonies were held in several countries, including Paraguay, Argentina, Uruguay, Cuba, Honduras, Venezuela, Panama, Chile, and Brazil.
B’nai B’rith International (BBI) Director of Latin American Affairs Eduardo Kohn addressed a crowd of 600 people during a presentation commemorating “The Night of Broken Glass” in Asuncion, Paraguay, on Nov. 4.
The event was attended by Paraguay’s acting president Federico Franco, several congressmen and ministers, the head of the Paraguayan Supreme Court, ambassadors, and the Papal Nuncio.
Kohn’s speech centered on the importance of remembering Kristallnacht so that it never happens again, stating that memory and education are crucial to the fight against intolerance and violence.
“Today, we reflect on intolerance and its direct sons: xenophobia and unlimited hatred for the other, the different,” Kohn told the crowd. “We should ask ourselves if we are capable of adequately remembering what happened only 70 years ago so that we can create a future without silence and forgetfulness.”
B’nai B’rith Argentina organized another commemoration event at the Cathedral of Buenos Aires, Argentina’s main Catholic church, on Nov. 11.
Keynote speakers Victor Fernandez, the dean of faculty of theology at the Catholic University; Rabbi Abraham Skorka, the rector of the Rabbinic Seminar; and Father Jorge Junor, rector of the Cathedral of Buenos Aires, addressed the crowded atrium, emphasizing the themes “not to forget” and “never again.”
Attendees included Victor Taccetti, the Argentine under secretary of foreign affairs; Guillermo Oliveri, the minister of religion; and ambassadors from Israel, Germany, Austria, Croatia, and several other countries.
Argentine federal judge Daniel Rafecas, a well known advocate for human rights and a honored guest of Yad Vashem, was the keynote speaker at the ceremony in Montevideo, which was held in B’nai B’rith Hall on Nov. 13.
During his address, Rafecas lamented Latin America’s involvement in the Holocaust, including the refusal to admit those attempting to escape the Nazi regime and its willingness to harbor “thousands of Nazi war criminals.”
Holocaust survivors lit a menorah during the service, with Rodolfo Nin Novoa, the Uruguayan vice president and the country’s president of congress, lighting the middle candle.
Other prominent figures in attendance include former Uruguayan President Luis Alberto Lacalle; and the president of the supreme court of justice; the minister of foreign affairs, along with several other ministers; several senators and deputies; chairs of each of the political parties; ambassadors; and many members of the media.
In addition to those commemoration events, memorials were also held in several other countries:
• On Nov. 18, several children from Sao Pablo, Brazil, were recognized for their remarkable essays on the topic, “Shoah and 60 Years of the Declaration of Human Rights.”
• In Cuba, Dr. Jose Archulet, a professor at La Havana University, was the keynote speaker at the event held in Havana’s Jewish Center on Nov. 8.
• U.S. ambassador to Honduras Hugo Llorens addressed the crowd at the Nov. 9 commemoration at Synagogue Shevet Ahim in Tegucigalpa, Honduras.
• Dr. Pinjas Babelnik and Abraham Levy, chair of CAIV - which serves as a representative of the Venezuelan Jewish community - spoke at a Kristallnacht memorial service in Venezuela on Nov. 11.
• Also on Nov. 11, District 23 President Daniel Belozercovsky gave the keynote address at a remembrance ceremony in Panama.
• Ambassadors from Germany, Austria, and Israel gave rousing speeches in one commemoration event in Chile on Nov. 10, while Rabbi Shmuel Szteinhendler addressed the crowd at the Lutheran Evangelic Temple.
