In our High School Kristallnacht program, students explored the maxim: “The standard you walk by is the standard you accept”. Our Year 11 students, Zac, Ruby and Lily, who helped facilitate student discussion and our commemoration, share their reflections below:

If we aren’t happy with the actions of others around us yet we merely walk by, are we not just repeating history? 

Kristallnacht or The Night of Broken Glass is a traumatic event in Nazi Germany and the beginning of many violent acts against the Jews. On this night, 9 November 1938, there was a pogrom against the Jews carried out by the SA paramilitary forces. 

The people of Austria and Germany watched on, as bystanders, as the glass of synagogues was shattered, shops were vandalised, Jews were killed. Soon, as we know, everything Jewish was to be burnt to ashes. 

How does this relate to us?

In our contemporary society we, as the future generation, are taught to be proactive, to be upstanders and speak out when we see something wrong. “The standard you walk past is the standard you accept”, is a quote that was proposed to each tutor group on Monday morning as part of our Kristallnacht pe’ulah. Each tutor group discussed this quote and most of the conversation revolved around the importance of being an upstander, not a bystander. A core teaching of Judaism is לא תעמוד על דם רעך/Lo ta’amod al dam rei’akha – Do not stand upon the blood of a fellow human being

Why is this important?

It’s vital for us, as Jews, to remember the past and mourn the loss of lives in the Holocaust, the great tragedy which began that night. We lit a Yizkor candle to remember the lives taken. The light represents our unwavering commitment to fight antisemitism and all forms of prejudice. As our light will always banish darkness, so will our spread of love banish intolerance and hatred.

By Zac Levenson and Ruby Hurwitz, Year 11

Let there be Light 

Individual student statements and reflections also appeared on March of the Living’s Let there be Light website, in commemoration of Kristallnacht.

I pledge to stand up to ensure that the truth about Jewish people is told. I will never be embarrassed about being a Jew. I will not be ashamed of my heritage and remember the struggles that Jews went through. I have been blessed with the ability to use my voice, and as a Jew I pledge to do that. Maayan Granot

I pledge to educate myself and other about past and present injustices and acts of discrimination in our world, to try create a deeper awareness, empathy and understanding of humanity, leading to a positive change for all. Lily Berger