Lecture to Explore Kristallnacht 78 Years Ago, Nov. 29
On November 29, three-time Jewish Book Award-winning author and historian, Dr. Michael A. Meyer will deliver the annual Adolph and Ruth Schnurmacher Lecture in Judaic Studies. Free and open to the public, Meyer’s lecture, entitled, “Popular Anger of Planned Pogrom? What Really Happened During Kristallnacht 78 Years Ago?” will take place at 7:30 p.m. in the Dolan School of Business Dining Room.
Much is known of the murders and assaults and the burning of synagogues and Jewish stores, but why did the Nazis undertake this violence on the night of November 9-10, 1938? Was it all planned or, as they argued, entirely spontaneous? Michael A. Meyer will speak about not only what happened, but also how Germans reacted, whether it was planned in advance, and where this event lies on the path to the Holocaust.
Dr. Meyer's books The Origins of the Modern Jew: Jewish Identity and European Culture in Germany, 1749-1824 ; Response to Modernity: A History of the Reform Movement in Judaism ; Jewish Identity in the Modern World ; and a collection of essays entitled Judaism Within Modernity , won Jewish Book Awards. In 2015, The Leo Baeck Institute presented him with its Moses Mendelssohn Award for lifelong dedication to teaching and publishing about German-Jewish history and culture.
The event is made possible through the generosity of the Adolph and Ruth Schnurmacher Foundation and is presented by the Carl and Dorothy Bennett Center for Judaic Studies. Reservations are requested. Call (203) 254-4000 ext. 2066 or email bennettcenter@fairfield.edu .
