Light Up The Church

January 2025: Kristallnacht News Update

Thank you again for signing the Kristallnacht declaration. Every month we send a few stories about Kristallnacht and the Holocaust that made the news in the previous month. Towards November 2025 we will share information about Light Up The Church 2024.

Below is the update from the stories of January 2025.

  • International Holocaust Survivors Night 2024

    A livestream event honoring the bravery and wisdom of Holocaust survivors from around the world. This special program will feature a candle lighting ceremony at the Kotel (Western Wall) in Jerusalem, a symbol of resilience and remembrance. Tune in to commemorate the lives, stories, and enduring legacy of those who survived the Holocaust, and to stand in solidarity against antisemitism and hatred in all its forms.

  • Local Holocaust survivor's story immortalized in exhibit at Holocaust & Humanity Center

    The Nancy & David Wolf Holocaust & Humanity Center in Cincinnati has introduced an innovative exhibit that preserves and shares the stories of local Holocaust survivors through interactive technology. This exhibit, part of the USC Shoah Foundation's Dimensions in Testimony project, allows visitors to engage in real-time conversations with digital representations of survivors, offering a deeply personal connection to their experiences. By incorporating testimonies from Cincinnati-area survivors, the center ensures that these powerful narratives remain accessible and impactful for future generations.

  • CMU professor, Holocaust survivor endows annual Pitt Jewish Studies lecture

    The newly endowed Dr. Edith Balas Annual Lecture at Pitt honors the legacy of a Holocaust survivor and renowned art historian who dedicated her life to exploring Jewish art and memory. The lecture will spotlight artists impacted by the Holocaust and celebrate diverse expressions of Jewish creativity. It ensures that Dr. Balas’s passion for preserving and interpreting Jewish history through art continues to inspire future generations.

  • One memory of Hanukkah as a child lasts a lifetime for Holocaust survivor

    Henry Baum, 97, was a child when he escaped Nazi Germany via the Kindertransport, with only faint memories of his homeland. One cherished memory is celebrating Hanukkah with his family, a moment of warmth and tradition that has stayed with him for life. Today, he shares his story at The Zekelman Holocaust Center to help inspire empathy, tolerance, and remembrance.

  • ‘A giant of a man’: Holocaust survivor and Nazi hunter Josef Lewkowicz dies at 98

    Josef Lewkowicz, a Holocaust survivor who endured six concentration camps and helped capture Nazi war criminals, passed away at 98 in Jerusalem. His life, chronicled in the bestselling book The Survivor and the documentary The Survivor’s Revenge, stands as a powerful testament to resilience and justice. Known as “Reb Yosef,” he played a key role in bringing infamous Nazi Amon Göth to justice and inspired generations through his unwavering pursuit of truth.

  • 'We live on': Holocaust survivors attend NYC menorah lighting

    Josef Lewkowicz, a Holocaust survivor who endured six concentration camps, became a renowned Nazi hunter after World War II, helping bring notorious war criminals like Amon Goeth to justice. His life story, chronicled in the bestseller The Survivor and the documentary The Survivor’s Revenge, continues to inspire generations. Lewkowicz passed away in Jerusalem at age 98, leaving behind a legacy of resilience and justice.

  • Holocaust survivor's educational legacy honored by German ambassador

    Holocaust survivor George Shefi was awarded the Federal Order of Merit by German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, recognizing his resilience and legacy. Shefi, born in Berlin in 1931, escaped Nazi Germany via the Kindertransport, though his mother was later killed in Auschwitz. Now living in Israel, Shefi has built a life of remembrance and contribution, symbolizing survival and hope.

  • 100-year-old Holocaust survivor honored on Long Island - YouTube

    Pina Frassineti Wax, a 100-year-old Holocaust survivor, was honored on Long Island by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer for her extraordinary courage and resilience. During World War II, Wax and her family hid in a convent, where her brother sometimes dressed as a nun to avoid Nazi detection. Despite nearly losing her leg to an infection, her mother's determination saved her by securing penicillin from an American army base.

  • King Charles meets Holocaust survivor

    King Charles emphasized the significance of commemorating the 80th anniversary of Auschwitz-Birkenau’s liberation, calling his upcoming visit “so important.” He shared this sentiment while meeting Holocaust survivor Manfred Goldberg at a Buckingham Palace event marking Holocaust Memorial Day. The encounter highlighted the continued royal commitment to Holocaust remembrance and education.

  • San Antonio community mourns passing of 97-year-old Holocaust survivor

    Rose Sherman Williams, born in Radom, Poland, in 1927, endured the horrors of the Holocaust, surviving both Auschwitz and Bergen-Belsen concentration camps. After her liberation by British troops in 1945, she immigrated to the United States, eventually settling in San Antonio, Texas, where she dedicated her life to Holocaust education and remembrance. Through her memoir, Letters to Rose, and her volunteer work at the Holocaust Memorial Museum of San Antonio, Williams shared her story of resilience and hope, ensuring that the lessons of the Holocaust would not be forgotten by future generations

  • Holocaust survivor, 100, reveals how family hid from Nazis in plain sight as Chuck Schumer shares Senate honor: ‘Living legend superwoman’

    100-year-old Holocaust survivor Pina Frassineti Wax was honored on Long Island by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, who praised her as a “living legend superwoman.” She recounted how she, her mother Bianca, and brother Sergio hid in a convent during the Nazi occupation, with Sergio disguising as a nun to avoid detection. Despite suffering a severe leg infection while in hiding, she survived thanks to her mother’s relentless care and bravery.

  • Eighty Years On, Holocaust Generation A Narrowing 'Bridge' To Past Horrors

    Yad Vashem chairman Dani Dayan warns that the world is at a generational crossroads as Holocaust survivors—whose first-hand testimonies offer irreplaceable insights—dwindle with time. He emphasized that while their voices are irreplaceable, their stories must continue to be preserved and shared. As International Holocaust Remembrance Day approaches, Dayan stresses the urgency of safeguarding these memories before they are lost forever.

  • THE FIRST-EVER EIGHT-COUNTRY HOLOCAUST KNOWLEDGE AND AWARENESS INDEX SHOWS GROWING GAP IN KNOWLEDGE ABOUT THE HOLOCAUST, ESPECIALLY IN YOUNG ADULTS

    A new eight-country Index on Holocaust Knowledge and Awareness by the Claims Conference reveals declining awareness of basic Holocaust facts across surveyed nations. Alarmingly, a majority in each country—except Romania—believe a genocide like the Holocaust could happen again, with the highest concern in the U.S. at 76%. The study underscores the urgent need for stronger Holocaust education and remembrance efforts globally.

  • ON THE 80TH COMMEMORATION OF LIBERATION, 80 AUSCHWITZ SURVIVORS EACH SHARE ONE PERSONAL MEMORY FROM THE HOLOCAUST THEY WANT THE WORLD TO NEVER FORGET

    To mark the 80th anniversary of Auschwitz’s liberation, the Claims Conference launched I Survived Auschwitz: Remember This, a digital campaign spotlighting survivors' powerful testimonies. Over two weeks, survivors share the one thing they want the world to remember—from lost family members to forever-changed hometowns. The campaign aims to preserve living memory and deepen public understanding of the Holocaust’s lasting impact.

  • Beyond the Classroom: Horrors of Holocaust Sites Shape Future Medical Professionals

    Over four days in Poland, University of Colorado fellows explored the role of medical professionals in Holocaust atrocities. They walked through Auschwitz, witnessing firsthand the remnants of inhuman experiments and mass murder. The experience emphasized how trusted healers became complicit in genocide, reminding future medical leaders of the ethical weight their profession carries.

  • Journeys of nearly 9,000 children who escaped certain death by Nazis detailed in never-before-seen documents

    The Kindertransport was launched after Kristallnacht in November 1938, a violent pogrom that destroyed thousands of Jewish homes, businesses, and synagogues. As Nazi persecution intensified, Jewish families faced deportation and imprisonment. In response, Jewish organizations arranged for the evacuation of children to safety, primarily in the United Kingdom.

  • What Happened Right Before Concentration Camps Were Liberated?

    This documentary offers a gripping and intimate retelling of the Holocaust through the eyes of 16 survivors. Their testimonies are paired with rare, restored and colorized archival footage that brings history vividly to life. It is a haunting yet essential chronicle of resilience, memory, and humanity amid unimaginable horror.

  • 'Holocaust survivors are shrinking in number - It's time to listen' says Angela Rayner

    Angela Rayner marked Holocaust Memorial Day by meeting Holocaust survivor Eve Kugler, 94, emphasizing it’s “time to listen.” Eve recounted witnessing Kristallnacht at age seven and being separated from her family at ten when she was sent to America for safety. Rayner highlighted the importance of preserving survivors’ stories for future generations.

  • Holocaust Remembrance Day 2025 – in pictures

    On Holocaust Remembrance Day 2025, leaders and survivors gathered at Auschwitz-Birkenau to honor the memory of over 1 million victims, mostly Jews, murdered there. The event marked 80 years since the camp’s liberation by Soviet troops. Commemorations were held globally on January 27 to ensure the horrors of the Holocaust are never forgotten.

  • Holocaust survivors fear Europe is forgetting the lessons of Auschwitz

    At a Holocaust education center in Dachau, 17-year-old Xavier reflected on the importance of learning history, especially as the far right gains traction in Germany. He and fellow students spent two days confronting their nation’s Nazi past and its relevance today. Eighteen-year-old Melike said hearing survivor Eva Umlauf’s story deeply moved her and filled a gap in her understanding.

  • I am the grandchild of Holocaust survivors

    On Holocaust Remembrance Day, a grandchild of survivors stands united with Arno, a former Neo-Nazi who once denied the Holocaust, to confront rising hate. Eighty years after the atrocities, they recognize the same dangerous signs—lies, division, and dehumanization. Their powerful alliance is a reminder that change is possible, and that “Never Again” must truly mean never again.