With the presence of the President of the Republic, Luis Lacalle Pou, accompanied by national authorities, the B´nai B´rith organization recalled on Wednesday the 9th the 84th anniversary of the Night of Broken Glass, which commemorates the attacks against Jewish citizens perpetrated in 1938 by the Nazi regime in Germany. The undersecretary of Education and Culture, Ana Ribeiro, maintained that that day marked the breaking of ethical codes. The Vice President of the Republic, Beatriz Argimón, also attended the tribute; the Secretary of the Presidency, Álvaro Delgado; the assistant secretary, Rodrigo Ferrés; the Ministers of National Defense, Javier García; of Interior, Luis Alberto Heber; of Social Development, Martín Lema; Labor and Social Security, Pablo Mieres; the director of the Planning and Budget Office (OPP), Isaac Alfie, departmental and national authorities.
The Night of Broken Glass commemorates the murders and attacks against the property of citizens of Jewish origin perpetrated on November 9, 1938 by militias and paramilitaries, who responded to the Nazi party, in Germany. This event started the mass deportations to the concentration and extermination camps.
In the act of commemoration of the 84 years at the headquarters of the New Israelite Congregation of Uruguay, seven candles were lit, symbol of the Jewish nation. The last lamp, which symbolizes the truth, was lit by President Luis Lacalle Pou and Undersecretary Ana Ribeiro.
After the opening speech, by the head rabbi, Daniel Dolinsky, the president of B’nai B’rith Uruguay, Franklin Rosenfeld, mentioned that memory is a right. “Today is a date to remember and not forget,” he said.
Meanwhile, Ribeiro recalled the echoes of that historic event in Uruguay. At the time, “it was claimed that what happened meant the sign of what would happen in the world,” he said. The breaking of the first crystals marked the breaking of ethical codes and the limits of violence, he added. Cultivating memory is an act of resistance and identification, he recognized.
The event concluded with the performance of a song alluding to the date.
