Kristallnacht' 88th anniversary: Merz says Germany faces historic test over antisemitism

George Sheffy was just six years old on the 9th of November 1938. But he still remembers his mother's instructions not to leave the house for three days and the scenes of chaos he discovered upon returning outside. My school was burnt down. I couldn't go to school anymore there. And then also I saw the streets, a couple of shops on the other side, especially I remember very clearly a hat shop. Which was broken into glass all over the place, women's hats all over the place. That made a big impression on me. Sheffy is one of the only remaining survivors of what became known as the Night of Broken Glass Pogrom, referring to the shattered glass which littered streets outside Jewish shops and homes on the night of the 9th to the 10th of November 1938. At least 90 Jews were killed by Nazi groups, 7,500 Jewish businesses were vandalized, and 1,400 synagogues were set ablaze. A brutal escalation in the Nazi persecution Foreshadowing the Holocaust during which six million Jews were killed. Speaking at a Munich synagogue on the anniversary of the pogrom, Friedrich Merz said Germany faced a historic test of its commitment to protecting its Jewish community against rising anti-semitism. The anti-semitism Antisemitism is omnipresent once again. We see and hear it on our streets, in our cities, in the cities of European neighbours and across the globe, in parliaments, organisations and schools. According to German authorities, nearly half of antisemitic incidents recorded in 2025 were attributed to far-right groups. Meanwhile, the far-right Alternative for Germany party is on the rise and has secured several electoral victories in recent months.