Copyright NBC 5 Chicago
A local Holocaust survivor spoke up on the 87th anniversary of Kristallnacht, or the Night of the Broken Glass, when Nazis destroyed Jewish businesses, synagogues and hospitals in Germany. “I am totally depressed about what’s going on,” said Holocaust survivor Judy Kolb. Hoping to prevent history from repeating, Kolb is remembering the anniversary of Kristallnacht which historians view as the beginning of the Holocaust. “It’s absolutely incredibly horrible that people can’t see that if things don’t turn around, it could get very ugly,” Kolb said. Before moving to Chicago, Kolb was born in a Jewish ghetto in China after her parents fled Nazi Germany following Kristallnacht in 1938. “They were deported, eventually ended up in Auschwitz,” Kolb said of some of her relatives who were sent to Nazi concentration camps following Kristallnacht. “Grandparents, my father’s sister, my grandmother’s sister, and her husband – all those family members were killed for what? For no reason,” said Kolb of her family members who were murdered along with millions of other Jews during the Holocaust. Local Kolb family’s story is featured at the Illinois Holocaust Museum & Education Center’s downtown location. “You can’t help but think about the rise of antisemitism today and understand that we have to also be called to action to continue to raise the alarm and our voices against it,” said Kelley Szany, Senior Vice President of Education & Exhibitions at the Illinois Holocaust Museum & Education Center. Anti-Jewish hate crimes are on the rise – increasing 58% last year in Chicago, according to city data. But it’s not just Chicago – antisemitism has reached record highs across the U.S. according to the Anti-Defamation League. “We should all be friends regardless of our religion or where we came from. We’re people. We’re all people.” Kolb said. The Am Shalom Synagogue in Glencoe planned to hold a remembrance of the Kristallnacht anniversary on Monday evening.
