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On the night of Nov. 9, 1938, the Nazi regime allowed a pogrom against Jews. Hitler's secret police, "the black shirts," roamed the streets in almost every city and hamlet of the German Reich, including recently occupied Austria. They firebombed synagogues and Jewish communal institutions, demolished Jewish shops and took Jews from their beds and beat them, sometimes to the point of death. Twenty thousand Jews were interned in concentration camps that night, and many did not live to see liberation from the camps.
In a matter of hours, 101 synagogues and 7,500 Jewish businesses were destroyed, and 91 Jews died at the hands of the Nazis. Sixty-six years later, a joint effort between the leaders of Hillel and Rainbow Connection brought a speaker to Mundelein Center to remind us of the events of the "Night of Breaking Glass." Although there have been speakers for this event in the past, there had never been a Holocaust survivor.
Hillel director Patti Ray realized that "many Hillel board members were getting younger, while Holocaust survivors were getting older," and because of this she felt the words of a Holocaust survivor would have a strong impact on its audience members. Claire Elizalde, president of Rainbow Connection, agreed.
"It's important to learn about the meaning of this commemoration, because it has meaning for all of us, Jewish or not," Elizadle said. The presentation began with Hillel treasurer Andrea Sidelsky explaining the significance of the date and of the candles Patti Ray would later light. There were six candles representing the six million Jews killed in the Holocaust. Elizalde spoke of the relationship between Jews and homosexuals in World War II.
"During the Holocaust we know that all Jews were victims, but what we [also] know is that all victims were [not] Jews," she stated. Homosexuals, for example, were humiliated and persecuted. They were forced to wear a pink triangle on their clothing so they could be singled out in concentration camps for more severe punishment. Holocaust survivor Helga Franks spoke after the candle lighting.
The Germans explained Kristallnacht by classifying it as an outburst of public rage after learning of the assassination of Ernst Vom Rath, an official at the German embassy in Paris. On Nov. 7, 1938, Vom Rath was shot by Herschel Grynszpan, a 17-year-old Polish Jew, after he heard that his parents were being expelled from Germany and not being let back into Poland. They were stranded in a refugee camp in the border region between Poland and Germany.
Two days later, Vom Rath died, and the Nazis unleashed a massive pogrom against the Jews of Germany.
"I had to go to school, and it was very early in the morning, it was a beautiful day like today, crisp, sun shining," Franks said.
She smelled something funny, and noticed that the synagogue was bright. It took her a moment to realize it was burning, and another moment to realize that a fireman was purposely ignoring it.
On her way to school that morning, she saw the broken windows of Jewish businesses. The building her school was held in, a synagogue, also had been set on fire. Walking home, she ran into a group of friends from other schools. They told her how lucky she was that the synagogue was burning, because now she didn't have to go to school. They didn't realize what was going on, and she made a conscious decision not to tell them, "to let them have five more minutes of happiness."
"I realized that moment that for me, my childhood was over," Franks said. Franks' life would get much worse before it would get better. Her family moved to Paris and remained there until the liberation. Her father, who had heart disease, died, and her mother suffered a nervous breakdown. Through the help of Jews and non-Jews alike, incredible perseverance and some luck, Franks and her mother survived the Holocaust.
"I lived with fear all my life and now I'm not afraid of anything," Franks said. "It's my story, and I think I happen to be lucky."
Franks passed around photographs and a gold star inscribed with "Juif," the French word for Jew. Although she admitted the Holocaust irrevocably altered her psyche, she also realizes that "I couldn't [have] survive[d] these things if I had a different personality."
Ray believes Franks' experiences during the Holocaust are lessons in perseverance and tolerance for all.
"This not only teaches people something about the history of Kristallnacht, but how to avoid disrespect and persecution," Ray said. "It brings understanding to how important it is to build bridges instead of walls."
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