9th Annual Kristallnacht Lecture: Abby Weiner

On Tuesday, November 10, the Farmington Libraries held its 9^th Annual Kristallnacht Lecture, featuring Holocaust survivor Abby Weiner.

Holocaust survivor and West Hartford resident Abby Weiner joined us to share his story. Born in Sighet, Romania, Weiner was one of the last transported out of his hometown to Auschwitz and later Buchenwald. After liberation by the U.S. Army in 1945, Mr. Weiner moved to England and then America. He served the U.S. as a soldier in the Korean War, and later entered the men’s clothing business.

Kristallnacht, also referred to as the Night of Broken Glass, was a series of coordinated attacks against Jews throughout Nazi Germany and parts of Austria on November 9-10, 1938. German authorities looked on as SA paramilitary and civilians carried out these attacks and covered the streets with broken glass from the windows of Jewish-owned stores, buildings, and synagogues. At least 91 Jews were killed in the attacks, and a further 30,000 arrested and incarcerated in concentration camps. Jewish homes, hospitals, and schools were ransacked, over 1,000 synagogues were burned, and over 7,000 Jewish businesses were destroyed or damaged. This annual event at the Farmington Libraries commemorates the human spirit’s ability to overcome such persecution.

You may watch a video of this lecture on our Youtube channel.