On the night of Nov. 9-10, 1938, members of the Nazi party sponsored anti-Jewish riots (pogroms) attacking both people and property in Germany and Austria. Known as “Kristallnacht, the Night of Broken Glass,” this event is regarded by historians as “the Night the Holocaust began” in Europe, which ultimately led to the murder of more than six million Jews.
To ensure no one ever forgets those events and to stand united in saying “Always Remember!” “Never Forget!” and “Never Again!” the Catholic-Jewish Dialogue of Collier County (CJD) hosted its 23rd annual “Kristallnacht: The Night of Broken Glass” commemoration Nov. 11, 2026, at St. William Parish, Naples. The event was co-sponsored by the Diocese of Venice and the Jewish Federation of Greater Naples, GenShoah of SWFL, and the Holocaust Museum and Janet G. and Harvey D. Cohen Education Center.
Marty Gauthier, Co-Chair of the CJD, shared the mission of the CJD, which is to promote an understanding of the mutual and shared history of the Catholic and Jewish faiths, and to advance acceptance of their differences and commonalities in a setting of respect, trust, faith, and hope. Gauthier also shared the regrets of Bishop Emilio E. Biosca, O.F.M. Cap., who was unable to attend the important interreligious commemoration due to unforeseen circumstances.
During the commemoration, two longtime supporters of the Catholic-Jewish Dialogue of Collier County were remembered. Bishop Frank J. Dewane, who served as bishop of the Diocese of Venice from 2007-2026, died Oct. 7, 2026, and Rabbi Stephen Fuchs, who served at Bat Yam Temple of the Islands on Sanibel, died July 26, 2026.
During the horrific “Night of Broken Glass,” the organized Antisemitic acts of violence humiliated, assaulted and killed hundreds of Jewish people while more than 26,000 were arrested and sent to prisons and concentration camps. The rioters also damaged or destroyed more than 1,400 synagogues, vandalized thousands of Jewish-owned businesses, broke into Jewish people’s homes, and desecrated religious objects. This was the end, at this time in history, of any hope of having Jews continuing to safely live in Germany.
The annual commemoration included a candle lighting ceremony. Seven candles were lit by Gen Shoah (first- second- and third-generation Holocaust survivors), joined by teens from St. William Parish as well as the B’nai B’rith Youth Organization. Each lit their candle for the victims of the Holocaust and for the hope of a brighter future.
Holocaust survivor Francoise Onufer shared how a Catholic family sheltered her and her siblings throughout the Holocaust. She was so young that she thought the family were aunts, uncles and cousins. Two years after the end of World War II she was reunited with family members, and it was only then that she learned she was not Catholic. Her protectors told her that she needed to learn who she was and carry on her Jewish tradition for the next generation.
Other survivors spoke of fortunate escapes from Nazi Germany or the horrors they experienced while on the run or in hiding, living in constant terror of capture or death. None came through the Holocaust unscathed, with great numbers of family members murdered outright or sent to their death in concentration camps.
An original poem by Sol Awend, “Kristallnacht, the Night of Broken Glass,” was presented in Yiddish by the author and read in English by Rachel Kogan, of the Jewish Law Students Association of Ave Maria School of Law in Naples.
Also participating in the commemoration was Father Bob Kantor, pastor of St. Agnes Parish, Naples, who, along with Rabbi Ammos Chrony of Beth Tikvah of Naples, recited the Kaddish (Mourner’s Prayer). The closing benediction was offered by Rabbi Adam Miller of Temple Shalom, Naples.
The CJD is affiliated with Jewish Federation of Greater Naples and the Diocese of Venice parishes in Collier County.
