Panel Discussion – University of North Texas

What is Never Again? Kristallnacht and Other Lessons from the German-Jewish Past

The German Club in collaboration with The Jewish Studies Program and the Department of World Languages, Literatures, and Cultures.

On the night of November 9, 1938, Nazi paramilitary forces attacked, burned, and looted over a thousand Jewish synagogues throughout Germany and Austria. The attack, organized by Nazi party leaders, also led to the death of almost 100 Jewish people and the arrest of about 30,000 Jews by the Nazi authorities. Kristallnacht – literally: night of crystals, referring to the crystal glasses of the broken synagogue windows – marks a turning point in German-Jewish history, which has ultimately led to the mass murder of Jewish and other people in the “Final Solution”: the Holocaust. November 9 also marks other pivotal events in German history: From the November Revolution of 1918, which brought an end to German monarchy; and the Beer Hall Putsch of 1923, Hitler’s attempt of insurrection against the democratic Weimar Republic; to the Fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, which marked the end of the authoritarian socialist regime in East Germany.

The term “Never Again” is being used often in these and other contexts, in the call to prevent a repetition of these and related historical catastrophes. Yet the meaning of the term may require clarification and reactualization. In this event, UNT faculty and students will discuss and analyze the meaning of the term “Never Again” in light of the historical significance of Kristallnacht and other lessons from the German-Jewish past, reflecting on the meaning of the term in understanding the past, rethinking the present, and building a better future, both locally and globally.

Panel discussion participants include Dr. Asaf Angermann, Assistant Professor of Philosophy and Religion and Director of the Jewish Studies Program; Dr. Cindy Renker, Principal Lecturer of German and Jewish Studies, and Dr. Christoph Weber, Professor of German and Chair of the Department of World Languages, Literatures, and Cultures. Opening remarks will be delivered by Dr. Albert Bimper, Executive Dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences and by Christian Gonzalez, President of the German Club Student Organization.

Location:
Environmental Science Building
1704 W Mulberry St., Room 130
Denton, TX 76201