It's next Tuesday. Holocaust museums around the world mark November 9th (the anniversary of Kristallnacht, or the Night of Broken Glass, in 1938) with special educational programs, online experiences, film screenings, and candle-lighting ceremonies.
Holocaust museums, education centers, and national memorials are located across dozens of countries worldwide, including Israel, the US, China, Russia, Japan, Taiwan, Indonesia, Philippines, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, Cuba, Canada, Mexico, Germany, Austria, France, Poland, United Kingdom, Netherlands, Lithuania, Israel, Czech Republic, Italy, Hungary, Romania, Greece, Ukraine, Sweden, Norway, Switzerland, Belgium, and Portugal, in Porto.
In Jerusalem, Yad Vashem is marking the 88th anniversary of the November Pogrom (Kristallnacht) on November 9, 2026, through its joint "Spread the Light" (Or Dolek) initiative. In partnership with the Religious Kibbutz Movement, the museum is calling on synagogues, universities, theaters, community centers, and military bases globally to leave their lights on overnight through the night of November 9–10, 1938/2026.
The glowing buildings symbolize the triumph of the Jewish spirit, declaring that Nazi Germany failed to obliterate Jewish life or culture. Over 1,000 communities across Israel and the Diaspora are taking part by illuminating communal structures and sharing photographs with the hashtag #Or_Dolek. Leading up to the anniversary, Yad Vashem has also hosted student webinars and provided primary-source classroom resources focused on the history of Kristallnacht and the impact of complicity.
Porto's Holocaust museum expects to welcome thousands of students like every previous year, to mark the 1938 Nazi pogroms against Jewish communities—during which over 1,000 synagogues were burned, 7,500 Jewish businesses were vandalized, and 30,000 Jewish men were sent to concentration camps.
The Shoah museum in Porto and other Museums like the Museum of Jewish Heritage — A Living Memorial to the Holocaust invite visitors to light candles and participate in campaigns like "Remember and Be the Light" to protest contemporary hatred.
