On the night of November 9th to 10th, 1938, synagogues burned all over Germany. The President of the European Left, Heinz Bierbaum, comments:
“Today marks the anniversary of organized violence against the Jewish population during the Reichspogromnacht in Germany. On these days marauding thugs set fire to synagogues and devastated Jewish shops all over Germany, with the approval of the NSDAP. Thousands of Jewish people were mistreated or killed in the process. The Reichspogromnacht was the terrible starting point of the state persecution of the Jews, which culminated in the murder of six million people of Jewish faith in Europe by the Nazis.
“Today we commemorate this dark hour in Germany’s past. Memory refers all those who stand for democracy and the inalienability of human rights.The events of November 9th had a history: for decades anti-Semitic discourses were held and made socially acceptable.
“The tragic event haunts us till today. The fight against anti-Semitism and other forms of racism is not only an indispensable mandate from the Holocaust, but remains a daily challenge in Germany and all over Europe. The European Left strongly opposes any form of exclusion and opression by right-wing agitators. The dealing with fascism and the ideologies of the extreme right remains a crucial point for the EL in the fight for a better future for all. We fight side by side with other progressive forces and movements to prevent the barbarism of the past from being repeated.”