Holocaust survivors in LA mark 85th anniversary of Kristallnacht amid rising antisemitism

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Holocaust survivors and Jewish leaders in Los Angeles gathered Thursday to commemorate the 85th anniversary of Kristallnacht - or the "Night of Broken Glass" - in 1938 in which the Nazis terrorized Jews throughout Germany and Austria.

Kristallnacht, or "Night of Broken Glass," was a turning point in the escalated persecution of Jews.

Shards of broken glass littered German streets as Nazis destroyed and vandalized Jewish-owned businesses and homes, and set fire to synagogues.

It is estimated that 30,000 Jewish men were rounded up and taken to concentration camps.

On Thursday, Holocaust survivors and Jewish leaders with the Simon Wiesenthal Center marked the anniversary as they stood in solidarity with the victims of the Oct. 7 Hamas terrorist attacks in Israel.

"We cannot allow history to repeat itself," survivor Ella Mandel said.

"The action of Hamas are so familiar, so barbaric," she said.

The survivors joined others around the world to condemn the unprecedented surge in antisemitism.

"Never have we, the survivors of the Holocaust, felt the need to make a collective statement such as this until today," Mandel said.

"We gather to internalize the atrocities of the Hamas terrorists whose real name is the Nazis of the 21st century," said Rabbi Marvin Hier, the CEO of the Simon Wiesenthal Center.

Rabbi Abraham Cooper, the global social action director of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, said they've reached a tipping point on the rising levels of antisemitism.

"How unbelievably difficult it must be in the land that they love, the United States of America, they now have to talk about reacting to evil that we see unfolding before us," Cooper said.

The survivors said it's an evil they've seen firsthand and they demand world leaders to take action to address it.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.