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Israeli Survivors of Kristallnacht Mark 87th Anniversary of Nazi Riots amid Rising Antisemitism
(AP) Melanie Lidman - Walter Bingham was 14 when Nazis plundered Jewish businesses and places of worship across Germany and Austria in what became known as Kristallnacht, or the "Night of Broken Glass," on Nov. 9, 1938. Bingham is among the Holocaust survivors marking the 87th anniversary of Kristallnacht on Sunday, at a time when antisemitism is on the rise. "We live in an era equivalent to 1938, where synagogues are burned, and people in the street are attacked," said Bingham, now 101. During the Kristallnacht riots, the Nazis killed at least 91 people, vandalized 7,500 Jewish businesses, and set fire to more than 1,400 synagogues. Up to 30,000 Jewish men were arrested, many taken to concentration camps. Hundreds died years before official mass deportations began. Bingham said he can remember every detail of the aftermath of the Kristallnacht attack. He was walking to school in Mannheim. When he got to the synagogue where his classes were held, it was a smoldering wreck. He watched as firefighters let the synagogue burn while dousing neighboring properties to ensure the fire didn't spread. Months later he was put on a Kindertransport from Germany to England. Bingham's father died in the Warsaw Ghetto, and Bingham never saw his mother again.