[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 164 (Wednesday, November 4, 2015)]
[House]
[Page H7635]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     KRISTALLNACHT 77TH ANNIVERSARY

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from 
Florida (Ms. Ros-Lehtinen) for 5 minutes.
  Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, Monday, November 9, marks the 77th 
anniversary of Kristallnacht, the event that would foreshadow the 
crimes against humanity that the Nazis would commit against 6 million 
Jews and other religious and ethnic minorities.
  Inspired by incitement from the Nazi Minister of Propaganda, Joseph 
Goebbels, regime members, and party loyalists issued orders to local 
officials to target and attack the Jewish community. Often disguised in 
plain clothes to perpetuate the false narrative that these were 
spontaneous attacks and the expression of the public sentiment toward 
the Jews, the pogroms of Kristallnacht had an immediate and chilling 
impact.
  Mr. Speaker, mobs roamed the streets freely attacking Jews in their 
houses, destroying their businesses, and forcing them to perform public 
acts of humiliation. Nearly 300 synagogues were destroyed while Jewish 
artifacts and archives were confiscated.
  Approximately 7,500 Jewish-owned businesses and shops were vandalized 
and looted; and to add to the disgrace and punishment of having their 
livelihoods taken from them and destroyed, the Jews were blamed for the 
events of Kristallnacht, and they were fined for damages--the then 
equivalent of $400 million. Over 30,000 Jews were arrested and then 
transferred to some of the Nazi's most gruesome and notorious 
concentration camp sites during the events of Kristallnacht.
  Nearly 100 Jews were killed on the night of November 9, 1938, and 
into the morning the next day.
  Yet, Mr. Speaker, this was only the beginning. Facing little public 
backlash, the Nazi regime took the events of Kristallnacht as a signal 
of support for their cruel treatment of the Jewish community and 
quickly imposed restrictions against the Jews that would lead up to the 
Holocaust.

                              {time}  1115

  Mr. Speaker, Kristallnacht is a solemn reminder of what can happen 
when people allow anti-Semitism, incitement, and hatred to carry on 
unabated. Kristallnacht was the manifestation of fear and scapegoating 
and was not only allowed to take place, but was the direct result of a 
people's indifference to the hatred of a religious minority. And 
indifference is, indeed, all that is needed for evil to take root, for 
evil to expand.
  That is precisely why we must commemorate these tragic events that 
mar our collective past and that mark one of humanity's darkest 
periods, and why we must rededicate ourselves to the vow of: ``Never 
again.''
  This is particularly important in today's environment, as Israel 
finds itself plagued by a new round of terror and violence that has 
been spurred upon by incitement and anti-Israel indoctrination from the 
Palestinian authority and its so-called leaders.
  In the past month and a half, there have been nearly 60 random knife 
attacks against Israeli citizens, five shootings, and six car rammings. 
Yet, where is the condemnation from the international community? 
Instead of speaking out against these attacks, the United Nations Human 
Rights Council invited Abu Mazen, and he used his platforms to spew out 
his harmful and inciting rhetoric. Responsible nations must condemn, 
not ignore, Abu Mazen's words and his actions.
  Last month, Secretary Kerry said that leaders need to lead; and, this 
week, this body stood up and said enough is enough.
  The House passed a resolution I offered, alongside my south Florida 
colleague, Congressman Ted Deutch, that condemned the anti-Israel and 
anti-Semitic attacks from within the Palestinian authority.
  The House also passed a resolution that encouraged our government to 
do more in the fight against anti-Semitism and to work more closely 
with the governments of Europe to step up their efforts to battle the 
alarming rise of anti-Semitism across the continent.
  And we need to do more at home, especially on our college campuses. 
Too often, Mr. Speaker, anti-Semitism is being disguised as an anti-
Israel political attack, manifested primarily through the Boycott, 
Divestment and Sanctions movement, the BDS movement.
  We have a moral obligation to stand up against these acts.

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