Bergen Marks Kristallnacht as Speakers Warn of Rising Antisemitism and Fascism

Bergen Kristallnacht commemoration and rising antisemitism warnings, Digi Mart USA News (Bergen, Norway): Several people gathered at Torgallmenningen on Monday evening to mark Kristallnacht, the November 9, 1938 pogrom in which German Nazis carried out coordinated attacks on thousands of Jews in Germany. The attacks marked the beginning of the Holocaust, in which many millions of Jews were killed.

One participant, Monica Vellem, said the event is about standing up for fundamental human rights. Her grandparents lived in Bergen during the war, and although they were fortunate, they were deeply concerned that such events must never happen again.

She believes fascism is growing in today’s society.

“It is exactly the same thing that is happening today. Antisemitism is growing, but so is fascism in general,” she said.

“You only have to look across the pond,” she added.

During Kristallnacht, Nazis deported tens of thousands of Jews to concentration camps and destroyed synagogues and Jewish businesses. The name refers to the thousands of broken shop windows that littered the streets the morning after the attacks.

Norsk Folkehjelp Bergen stated on Facebook that nearly 3,000 synagogues were burned or destroyed, 7,500 shops were vandalized, 91 Jews were killed, and 30,000 people were sent to concentration camps during the night of November 9–10.

Fauzia Hussain-Wiik, leader of LO Bergen og Omland, told attendees that the day was for remembering and also for warning. “Kristallnacht did not start with broken windows.

It started with words. With lies, with suspicion, and with politicians pointing at a certain group and saying it was their fault,” she said.

In her speech she emphasized lessons from history. “Hatred has not disappeared.

History shows us how dangerous it becomes when we let it grow. We must stand up against hatred while it is still words,” she said.

Maja Omar, leader of Norsk Folkehjelp Solidaritetsungdom, agreed. “As young people, we have a responsibility to stand up against hate.

It is about the words we use and the actions we stand behind,” she said.