The Sholom Center for Interfaith Learning and Fellowship and the Greenwich Fellowship of Clergy Present an Interfaith Concert in Commemoration of Kristallnacht

 In commemoration of the 75th Anniversary of Kristallnacht, the “Night of Broken Glass”, Temple Sholom will host an Interfaith Concert on Thursday, November 7 at 7pm at Temple Sholom, 300 East Putnam Avenue, Greenwich.  The concert will feature singing by over 90 children from the youth and teen choirs of Temple Sholom and local area churches.  Prominent composer Gerald Cohen will also present selections from his new opera, “Steal a Pencil for Me.”

Kristallnacht was a pogrom, a series of coordinated attacks, against Jews throughout Nazi Germany and parts of Austria on November 9 and 10, 1938, carried out by Nazi forces and non-Jewish civilians. German authorities looked on without intervening.  The name Kristallnacht comes from the shards of broken glass that littered the streets after Jewish-owned stores, buildings, and synagogues had their windows smashed.   At least 91 Jews were killed in the attacks, and 30,000 were arrested and incarcerated in concentration camps.  Jewish homes, hospitals, and schools were ransacked, as the attackers demolished buildings with sledgehammers. Over 1,000 synagogues were burned (95 in Vienna alone) and over 7,000 Jewish businesses destroyed or damaged.

Choirs from Temple Sholom, Greenwich Academy, First Congregational Church, Christ Church, First Presbyterian Church, and Second Congregational Church, will join together to honor the memories of lives lost on that terrible night.  A number of members of the Greenwich Fellowship of Clergy will share thoughts and readings.  Selectman David N. Theis will present for the town.

            This program is sponsored by The Greenwich Fellowship of Clergy, The Sholom Center for Interfaith Learning and  Fellowship, the Interfaith Council of Southwestern Connecticut, Greenwich Academy, Christ Church, Temple Sholom, First Congregational Church, Second Congregational Church, First Presbyterian Church, and  St. Catherine’s .

This event is open to the community.  Suggested donation is $10/pp.  RSVP by November 4 is requested to Alice Schoen, alice.schoen@templesholom.com, 203-542-7165.

Temple Sholom is an award-winning Conservative-Egalitarian congregation which has served the Greenwich, Stamford, and Rye Brook communities for more than 90 years. For more information about Temple Sholom, please call (203) 869-7191 or visit our website at www.templesholom.com.