Rider to host 10th annual Kristallnacht commemoration ceremony

Rider University will host the 10th Annual Philip J. Albert Memorial Kristallnacht Commemoration Ceremony on Nov. 11 at 3 p.m. in Gill Chapel on the Lawrenceville campus.

Associate history professor Dr. Lucien Frary will be the guest speaker. He will present on the topic of "The Bulgarian Jews and the Final Solution, 1940-44." He will discuss how nearly 50,000 members of the Bulgarian Jewish community managed to escape the Holocaust virtually intact.

Kristallnacht — or the Night of Broken Glass — occurred on Nov. 9, 1938, when Nazis destroyed synagogues and local businesses, looted stores, ransacked homes and killed nearly 100 Jews with the support of state-sponsored programs. In addition, 30,000 other Jewish individuals were arrested and sent to concentration camps. The event was named for the glass that lined the streets following the attacks.

Sponsored by the Julius and Dorothy Koppelman Holocaust/Genocide Resource Center, the event is free and open to the public. Throughout the year, the Center hosts a variety of educational events for the University and the local community.

For more information, contact the Center at [email protected].