09/11/2025
Tonight marks the 87th anniversary of *Kristallnacht* — or, as it is called in Austria, the “November Pogrom.”
On the night of November 9–10, 1938, a massive coordinated attack against Jews took place across the Third Reich — in Germany, Austria, and the Sudetenland region of Czechoslovakia. The perpetrators were members of the SA and SS, Hi**er Youth, and ordinary citizens, while the authorities stood by and allowed the violence to unfold unchecked.
The name *Kristallnacht* (“Night of Broken Glass”) refers to the shards of glass that covered the streets after the windows of Jewish synagogues, homes, and shops were smashed and trampled. More than 1,400 synagogues and prayer halls were destroyed or set on fire. Over 7,000 Jewish-owned businesses were looted and vandalized. 30,000 Jewish men were arrested and sent to concentration camps. Early reports spoke of 91 Jews murdered, but modern research suggests the true number was far higher.
Tonight I’m sharing with you an image of one of the synagogues destroyed that night — the Leopoldsädtertempel was Vienna’s largest synagogue, located on Tempelgasse Street in the city’s second district. It could seat 2,500 worshippers.
Today, that street is grey and lifeless; it’s hard to imagine that one of Europe’s most magnificent Jewish landmarks once stood there. In that synagogue, hundreds and thousands of Jews were married — native Austrians as well as immigrants from across Central and Eastern Europe.
After the war, there was no one left to fight for its reconstruction. A third of Austrian Jews were murdered in the Holocaust. A third fled. A third “disappeared.” The survivors who remained were few, frightened, and broken. Who could have demanded to rebuild it then?
That’s why the image I’m sharing here is the result of a collaborative project between myself מתן שגב פרנק together with my talented friend Maya created using three different AI systems and detailed manual editing in attempt to revive a world that was erased, and to show you a glimpse of the beauty that was destroyed.
