Kristallnacht at 88: Why Miami Still Shows Up

On November 9, 1938, the Nazi regime unleashed a coordinated wave of violence against Jewish communities across Germany and Austria. Synagogues were burned. Businesses were destroyed. Thousands were arrested. The night became known as Kristallnacht — the Night of Broken Glass — and it marked the moment the Holocaust moved from policy to pogrom. Eighty-eight years later, Miami shows up to remember.

The Holocaust Memorial Miami Beach is one of the most powerful public monuments in the United States. The memorial's centerpiece — a massive bronze arm reaching skyward, covered in human figures — is a work of art that refuses to let the viewer look away. It is the right place for this commemoration, and it has been the site of Miami's Kristallnacht observance for decades.

This year's commemoration will include the presence of a 105-year-old survivor — one of the last living witnesses to the events of November 1938. The ADL's most recent antisemitism survey found that antisemitic incidents in the United States reached a record high in 2023, a number that has continued to climb. The presence of a survivor at this age is not just a historical honor. It is a reminder that the people who lived through these events are still here, still speaking, and that the obligation to listen has not expired.

The student program begins at 4:30 p.m. — a dedicated session for young people that connects the history of Kristallnacht to the present moment. The community ceremony follows at 6:30 p.m. and is open to the public. Both programs are free.

Miami's Jewish community is one of the largest in the United States, and the city's relationship to Holocaust memory is personal in a way that is not true everywhere. Many of Miami's Jewish residents are the children and grandchildren of survivors. The Kristallnacht commemoration is not an abstraction here. It is a family obligation.

Holocaust Memorial Miami Beach: 1933-1945 Meridian Ave, Miami Beach. Student program: 4:30 p.m. Community ceremony: 6:30 p.m. Free and open to the public.