The National Catholic Center for Holocaust Education at Seton Hill University, in partnership with Violins of Hope Greater Pittsburgh, will present a Kristallnacht Remembrance Service and musical concert featuring instruments played during the Holocaust on Thursday, Nov. 9, 2023 at 7 p.m. at the Seton Hill Performing Arts Center. 

General admission tickets are $10 while VIP tickets that include a reception after the concert are $100. Tickets can be purchased at setonhill.edu/violins. 

The Kristallnacht Remembrance Service, hosted by the NCCHE and Seton Hill’s Office of Campus Ministry, will commemorate Kristallnacht on its 85th anniversary. On November 9 and 10, 1938, the Nazis burned synagogues, looted Jewish homes and businesses and murdered individuals throughout Germany, Austria and other Nazi controlled areas in a pogrom known as Kristallnacht, “the night of broken glass.” The allusion is to the broken glass that littered the ground from the shattered windows of Jewish-owned businesses.  This state inspired and sanctioned night of violence resulted in the deaths of 91 Jews, the looting of 7,000 Jewish businesses, the arrest of 30,000 Jewish males and the desecration or destruction of 267 synagogues. 

The NCCHE has commemorated Kristallnacht each year since its founding in 1987. 

As part of this year’s service, the Center has partnered with Violins of Hope of Greater Pittsburgh to present a concert by musicians using instruments that were played by Jewish musicians during the Holocaust. Each instrument has a unique has a unique emotional history that tells a story of perseverance and hope. Instruments will also be on display during the service and concert. 

Proceeds from the event benefit the National Catholic Center for Holocaust Education.