The Kristallnacht ceremony at the Holocaust Museum of Oporto. Credit: CIP/CJP
The Holocaust Museum of Oporto held a ceremony this Friday, November 7, in memory of Kristallnacht, the pogrom that took place 87 years ago and marked the beginning of the systematic persecution of Jews in Nazi Germany. The event brought together more than 150 students from Portuguese schools and universities for moments of reflection on the role of education in fostering tolerance and preventing hatred.
During the ceremony, the president of the Jewish Community of Oporto, Gabriel Senderowicz, emphasized that, in historical terms, the Night of Broken Glass is a recent event, and that young people’s understanding of antisemitism is an essential tool for preventing hatred against Jews.
The Kristallnacht ceremony at the Holocaust Museum of Oporto. Credit: CIP/CJP
“Kristallnacht took place 87 years ago. For young people, that may seem like a long time, but in the scale of history, it was practically yesterday. And the sentiment that inspired Kristallnacht does not belong only to the past. Irrational hatred toward Jews still exists. We believe that education is the most powerful means to combat it, and that is why we created this museum,” said Senderowicz.
Rabbi Haim Chetrit also took part in the ceremony, sharing with the students a rabbinic teaching from the Midrash (Vayikra Rabbah 9:3): “Derech eretz kadma laTorah”, which means “Good conduct precedes the Torah.” According to the rabbi, this teaching reminds us that morality and ethics are the foundations of a spiritual and religious life. He added that it serves as a reflection on how a cultured and developed society, such as Germany at the time, could allow antisemitism to grow to the point of normalizing the killing of minorities.
The Kristallnacht ceremony at the Holocaust Museum of Oporto. Credit: CIP/CJP
Founded in 2021 by the Jewish Community of Oporto (CIP/CJP), in partnership with B’nai B’rith International and in cooperation with Holocaust museums around the world, the Holocaust Museum of Oporto is dedicated to teacher training, the promotion of exhibitions, and historical research, with a special focus on younger audiences. Its collection includes documents and objects belonging to Jewish refugees who passed through Oporto in the early 1940s.
The Kristallnacht ceremony at the Holocaust Museum of Oporto. Credit: CIP/CJP
The museum also takes part in an exchange initiative in partnership with the Austrian association Österreichischer Auslandsdienst – Austrian Service Abroad, hosting volunteers who carry out activities in Holocaust remembrance centers around the world. The museum is overseen by members of the Jewish Community of Porto whose relatives were victims of the Holocaust and is part of a broader strategy to combat antisemitism.
At present, the museum is closed to the general public, focusing instead on scheduled school visits.
