B’nai B’rith commemorated the 87th anniversary of the 1938 November Pogroms, also known as Kristallnacht or the Night of Broken Glass, in events throughout Latin America, attended by dignitaries, Jewish community members and special guests.

An interfaith commemoration was held at a church in Buenos Aires, co-sponsored by B’nai B’rith Argentina, the Interfaith Commission of the Buenos Aires Archdiocese and the Holocaust Museum of Buenos Aires. Israeli Ambassador Eyal Sela, German Embassy Deputy Chief of Mission Thomas Konrad and Christian and Jewish leaders were among the attendees. Father Sebastian Rizzo, Rabbi Adrian Fada and Holocaust Museum Chair Jonathan Karszenbaum delivered keynote addresses. A candle was lit to honor victims of the Oct. 7 pogrom perpetrated by Hamas against Israel.

In Uruguay, 600 people gathered for a remembrance ceremony that drew Uruguayan President Yamandú Orsi, Vice President Carolina Cosse, and former Presidents Julio Sanguinetti, Luis Lacalle and Cardinal Daniel Sturla. Ruperto Long, a former congressman and author of a biography about Holocaust survivor Charlotte Grunberg, delivered the keynote address about Kristallnacht and the dangers of rising anti-Semitism. B’nai B’rith Uruguay President Jorge Tocar also spoke about persistent anti-Semitic violence in Uruguay from political parties, academia, unions and media.

B’nai B’rith Chile participated in two commemorations: an event with the German Museum of Chile featuring a moving exhibit and an interfaith gathering organized with Lutheran churches. B’nai B’rith Venezuela partnered with Yad Vashem for a commemoration featuring keynote addresses from German Ambassador Volker Pellet and Hanna Osers, who recounted her grandmother’s experience as a Holocaust survivor.

B’nai B’rith Ecuador and the Jewish community hosted an event that honored the story of Holocaust survivor Irene Butter, attended by Foreign Minister Gabriela Sommerfeld.

B’nai B’rith Costa Rica will hold a commemoration event on Nov. 24: “Combating Anti-Semitism and Hate Speech,” with Mexican journalist and writer Silvia Cherem as keynote speaker.

During the nights of Nov. 8 and 9, 1938, more than 1,000 synagogues were burned in Germany and Austria, thousands of Jewish-owned businesses were destroyed and countless Jewish homes and community centers were plundered. More than 96 Jews were killed. By remembering Kristallnacht, we preserve this pivotal moment in Jewish history in our collective memory—especially as surging global anti-Semitism reminds us that pogroms are not merely relics of the past.