Holocaust survivor recalls the horrors of Kristallnacht

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PROVIDENCE – Ruth Oppenheim was only 9 years old when the men in her small town in Germany went on a rampage, dragging her father out of the house and terrifying her mother and siblings.

It was Nov. 9, 1938, known as Kristallnacht or the Night of Broken Glass.

More than 160 people gathered in the social hall of the Alliance’s Dwares Jewish Community Center on the 84th anniversary of that fateful night to listen to Oppenheim tell her story.

She lived with her mother, father, two sisters and brother in northern Germany, near the Dutch border. She was one of the fortunate few on Kristallnacht – her father came back after a few hours, bloody and beaten, and he carried the shul’s Torah, which the family was able to hide.

The family was eventually able to get visas to go to the United States, by way of Holland, and were on the last passenger ship allowed out of Rotterdam. The Torah ended up at a congregation in Morningside Heights, New York, according to Oppenheim, 95.

She characterized those last years in Germany as an “era of utter despair.”

“People often ask me if I think this could happen here in the United States,” she said. “Several years ago, I answered emphatically no. After the attack on the Capitol, I’m not so sure anymore.”

Oppenheim speaks about her experiences to school groups, adult groups and others so that nobody forgets. She recently spoke to the Barrington Police Department, and she’s spoken at the U.S. Naval War College, in Newport.

“To keep the memories alive is to struggle for a better future,” she said.

The evening opened with a Yiddish melody sung by Cantor Judith Seplowin of Temple Beth-El, in Providence. Ralph Posner, a Holocaust survivor, introduced Oppenheim. The two have known each other for many years. Posner’s father was also arrested on Kristallnacht, though they lived in different places. Then, Posner’s father and Oppenheim’s husband worked together after both immigrated to the United States.

At the end of the hour-long program, Cantor Brian Mayer, of Temple Emanu-El, in Providence, chanted the El Malei Rachamim, the traditional memorial prayer.

The event was sponsored by the Sandra Bornstein Holocaust Education Center in partnership with Temple Emanu-El and Temple Beth-El.

FRAN OSTENDORF (fostendorf@jewishallianceri.org) is the editor of Jewish Rhode Island.

Kristallnacht, Ruth Oppenheim, Sandra Bornstein Holocaust Education Center