The Jewish Federation of Tulsa held a virtual remembrance event to observe Tuesday's 83rd anniversary of Kristallnacht, or "The Night of Broken Glass," the Nazi pogrom against Jews on Nov. 9, 1938, seen as a precursor to the atrocities of the Holocaust.
The theme for the Sunday program was "The Consequences of Being a Bystander."
"Those who were not affected, the bystanders, turned their heads in the face of injustice and oppression," said Nancy Pettus, the federation's director of Holocaust education. "Those who might have spoken up are often muffled by fear, or sometimes indifference.
"In hindsight, we clearly see the need for up-standers, whose powerful voices could have been used to disrupt this sound of silence."
"We hope you leave this presentation enlightened, moved and encouraged to recognize the dangers of indifference," Pettus said.
Keynote speaker Dr. John K. Roth, Holocaust scholar and professor emeritus of philosophy at Claremont McKenna College, noted parallels between the contemporary United States and the rise of the Third Reich.
"In Nazi Germany, shouts that 'Jews are not wanted here!' were the soundtrack for plans and actions that inflicted humiliation and suffering. Eighty-three years later, our country is buzzing, noisy even, and shouts about 'Make America Great Again' and 'Stop the Steal' are the soundtrack for plans and actions that could doom the democracy we have too easily, too silently, taken for granted," Roth said.
"Splintered by lies, corruption, racism, misguided grievance, violent insurrection and antidemocratic nationalism, current American politics has some similarities, plagued as it is by bogus claims of election fraud; adherence to debunked conspiracy theories; death-dealing, hyper-individualistic refusal to respect health-giving science; loyalty to discredited and debased political leaders," Roth said.
The federation said art inspired by Kristallnacht made by Tulsa-area K-12 students would be on display at the Sherwin Miller Museum of Jewish Art.
The Nazis' Brownshirts paramilitary carried out the pogrom from Nov. 9 through 10, during which at least 91 Jews were killed, nearly 2,000 synagogues were ransacked or burned, 7,500 Jewish businesses were destroyed, and up to 30,000 Jewish men were arrested and sent to concentration camps.
