In November 1938, Herschel Grynszpan, a Jewish refugee living in Paris, walked into his city’s German Embassy and assassinated Nazi diplomat Ernst vom Rath. Grynszpan was just seventeen years old. His actions would later be used as justification for Kristallnacht, the violent antisemitic pogrom which took place on November 9 and 10, 1938. Now, eighty-two years later, Herschel Grynszpan has largely faded into history.
Join the Museum for a program exploring Grynszpan’s story, how it came to be used as propaganda, and why it was ultimately forgotten. The program will include a discussion between Jonathan Kirsch, author of The Short, Strange Life of Herschel Grynszpan: A Boy Avenger, a Nazi Diplomat and a Murder in Paris, and Alan E. Steinweis, Professor of History and Raul Hilberg Distinguished Professor of Holocaust Studies at the University of Vermont.
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Live closed captions will be available during this program.
We would like to express our appreciation to the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany (Claims Conference) for supporting this public program. Through recovering the assets of the victims of the Holocaust, the Claims Conference enables organizations around the world to provide education about the Shoah and to preserve the memory of those who perished.
Public programming at the Museum of Jewish Heritage – A Living Memorial to the Holocaust is made possible, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, in partnership with the City Council; the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Kathy C. Hochul and the New York State Legislature; a Humanities New York CARES Grant with support from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the federal CARES Act; and other generous donors.
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