Res. No. 1029
Title
Resolution commemorating the 61st anniversary of Kristallnacht, "The Night of Broken Glass," in memory of all those who fell victim to the reign of anti-Semitism and senseless violence that took place on that night and all who suffered and perished in its wake.
Body
By The Speaker (Council Member Vallone) and Council Members Eisland, Berman, Fisher, Leffler, Povman, Koslowitz, Lasher, Michels, Dear, Freed, Lopez, Marshall, Nelson, Reed, The Public Advocate (Mr. Green), Abel and Stabile; also Council Members DiBrienza, Harrison, McCaffrey, O'Donovan, Pinkett, Provenzano, Quinn and Rivera.
Whereas, November 9, 1999 marks the 61st anniversary of Kristallnacht, a massive, violent and coordinated attack against Jews throughout Germany and Austria; and
Whereas, During that fateful night in 1938, hundreds of synagogues in Germany and Austria were destroyed, hundreds of Jewish businesses and homes were ransacked, innocent people were killed because they were Jews and, according to The Simon Wiesenthal Center, 30,000 other Jews were arrested and sent to concentration camps or deported; and
Whereas, Kristallnacht paved the way for future atrocities, culminating in government-sponsored mass murder on a scale unparalleled in world history, and it served as a prelude to the outbreak of war and the murder of millions of innocent people; and
Whereas, The barbarism and heinous display of inhumanity that ensued during Kristallnacht was characteristic of Nazi rule and served as a stark reminder of how corruptive, manipulative and blinding organized hatred could be; and
Whereas, According to the Council of Jewish Federations, New York State has the largest number of Holocaust survivors in the United States and the largest population of Jews in the world outside of the State of Israel; and
Whereas, The annual commemoration of Kristallnacht is a necessary and vital step in the continuing struggle to bring widespread public awareness to the atrocities of the Holocaust and in making certain that such wanton government-sanctioned violence never happens again; now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the Council of the City of New York commemorates the 61st anniversary of Kristallnacht, "The Night of Broken Glass," in memory of all those who fell victim to the reign of anti-Semitism and senseless violence that took place on that night and all who suffered and perished in its wake.
ADOPTED
ISP:lc
A:LS#2254 Kristallnacht-Res. (ISP disc 1999D_
10/14/99
- 2 -