Reading candlelight service remembers victims of Kristallnacht
More than 150 believers of different faiths joined Thursday night for a candlelight service in remembrance of Kristallnacht, or the Night of Broken Glass, and its victims.
Called the Circle of Light peace vigil, the solemn service at Christ Episcopal Church in Reading recalled the pogroms that occurred during the night of Nov. 9-10, 1938, when Jews throughout Germany and Austria were wrenched from sleep by the crash of shattering glass.
They watched with horror as marauding mobs of Nazis and their sympathizers called for the deaths of their Jewish neighbors and fellow countrymen.
Hundreds of synagogues and 7,500 Jewish business, homes and community institutions were burned and destroyed. Nearly 100 Jews were killed that night, and 30,000 others were arrested and sent to German concentration camps.
Kristallnacht is considered a precursor of the Holocaust.
"It's always important for us to remember the tragedies and the huge mistakes that we've made as humanity in the past," said the Rev. Bryce Wandrey, pastor of Christ Church, "of course, with the hopes of never repeating them again, but also to remember them in order to hope together for a better future together."
The commemoration began with the lighting of candles outside the church on North Fifth Street and was followed by an interfaith service inside.
Holocaust survivor Esther Bratt, widow of Holocaust survivor Sidney Bratt who died in September, lights a candle during the Kristallnacht prayer and remembrance service at Christ Episcopal Church, Fifth and Court streets, on Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024. (BILL UHRICH/READING EAGLE)
Christ Church began its tradition of hosting the interfaith service in 1992, when the congregation partnered in the observance with Trinity Lutheran Church in Reading and Reform Congregation Oheb Sholom, now located in Wyomissing.
Over the years, the annual event was expanded to include a wider swath of the community.
Thursday's event was presented by the Jewish Federation of Reading/Berks in partnership with Christ Episcopal Church and the Greater Reading Unity Coalition, a group composed of the federation, Reading Branch NAACP, the Daniel Torres Hispanic Center, Islamic Center of Reading and LGBT Center of Greater Reading.
Andrea Bodnar of Randolph, N.J., holds a candle during the Kristallnacht prayer and remembrance service at Christ Episcopal Church, Fifth and Court streets, on Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024. (BILL UHRICH/READING EAGLE)
"Kristallnacht remains a haunting reminder of the dangers of hatred and intolerance that are still present in today's world," Jewish Federation officials said in a statement. "It is essential to remember these events, as they serve as a warning against the destructive power of prejudice and discrimination in any society. Racist, antisemitic or any language targeting marginalized groups is unacceptable."
Oheb Sholom Rabbi Brian Michelson memorialized Holocaust survivor Sidney Bratt, who died in September at age 96.
"If you had the pleasure of knowing Sid," Michelson said, "you knew a man who had the ability to make the choice to be mad at the world, to be angry, to be bitter."
But that's not who Bratt was, Michelson said.
"He chose to build a new life, to enjoy it, to have hope and to bring laughter and gladness into this world," Michelson said. "He reminds us of the importance of the choices that we make. We can make the choice to be angry, we can make the choice to hate, or we can make the choice to make this world a better place.
"As we remember him, we bear witness for all those who have no one left to speak their stories."
Rabbi Brian Michelson of Reform Congregation Oheb Sholom memorializes Holocaust survivor Sidney Bratt, who died in Sept., during the Kristallnacht prayer and remembrance service at Christ Episcopal Church, Fifth and Court streets, on Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024. (BILL UHRICH/READING EAGLE)
Five friends from Randolph, N.J., attended the service for the first time.
They were brought together by Christ Episcopal parishioner Jill Braun, whose sister Betsy Billigmeier invited her Jewish friends Andrea Bodnar, Susan Kennedy, Ilise Levitt and Michele Wagner following a service last year in Randolph after the Oct. 7 attacks on Israel.
"Jill had mentioned that there was a service that they do at their church," Bodnar said, "and you know, fast-forward, a year later, we're all here gathering for the event."
Bodnar found the event tremendously powerful.
Billigmeier was particularly moved by the words found on the walls of a cellar in Cologne, Germany, where Jews hid from the Nazis.
"I was teary at the last part when they read the words from that cellar," she said, her voice breaking again. "And then those soloists sang the beautiful harmony to it:
"I believe,
I believe in the sun
even when it is not shining.
I believe in love
even when feeling it not.
I believe in God
even when God is silent."
Friends from Randolph, N.J., attended the Kristallnacht prayer and remembrance service at Christ Episcopal Church, Fifth and Court streets, on Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024. From left are Andrea Bodnar, Susan Kennedy, Jill Braun of Christ Episcopal Church, Braun's sister Betsy Billigmeier, Ilise Levitt and Michele Wagner. (BILL UHRICH/READING EAGLE)
