Kristallnacht Commemoration Emphasizes Need for Truth

Keynote speaker says we can learn from the past to combat wickedness in the world

Educate, motivate, empower and promote tolerance, or EMET, is Holocaust survivor Sami Steigmann’s mission. The acronym stems from the Hebrew word ‘emet,’ which translates to truth, a guiding principle in Steigmann’s life.

Steigmann, 84, recently spoke at Sacred Heart University’s annual Kristallnacht commemoration, an event that remembers the 1938 November night in which Nazi Party members raided, destroyed and burned Jewish businesses and synagogues throughout Germany and Austria.

The name Kristallnacht translates to “crystal night,” a symbol of the broken glass that lined the streets and filled the businesses of Jewish people in Germany. The event is remembered to this day as an unforgettable tragedy marking the beginning of the Holocaust.

The University’s annual remembrance opened with a welcome from SHU President John J. Petillo, who stressed to the students in attendance the importance of learning from the past and acting against hatred. “Never forget the tragedies of the past: learn from them and use them to expel the evil in your lives and communities,” he said. “Never be a bystander to acts of discrimination.”

Following Petillo’s welcome, Miriam Shomstein ’25 read Silence, a powerful poem by author and Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel about people’s duty to speak out against injustice. Rabbi Josh Ratner, Jewish chaplain at SHU, then introduced Steigmann, the event’s keynote speaker.

Steigmann spoke briefly about his upbringing, noting that he was only a toddler when he and his family arrived at Mogilev-Podolsky, a labor camp located in present-day Ukraine. He doesn’t remember all that happened to him there, but his parents told him he was subjected to Nazi experimentation, and he believes a lifetime of head, neck and back problems may be the result of those experiments.

“My age is both a blessing and a curse,” Steigmann said. “I was too young to remember anything from my time in a concentration camp, but my body still feels the effects of the experiments that were performed on me when I was a child.”

Following the Holocaust, Steigmann lived in both Israel and Europe before eventually settling in the New York City area in 1988. He has dedicated his life to one cause—educating people about what happened during the Holocaust. He believes everyone can learn from historical atrocities the need to combat wickedness in the world.

Hearing Steigmann’s story was a revelatory experience for the many students in attendance—one that taught them the value of standing up against injustice and the power of a positive attitude.

Rodney Osumo ’28 said Steigmann’s life story and accomplishments amazed him. “The human spirit is a remarkable thing. The courage and will to survive that Mr. Steigmann has displayed throughout his life is very encouraging to me and something that will inspire me every day,” said Osumo.

Steigmann continues to teach and inspire young people as much as he can, and his messages of hope and unity will echo throughout the SHU campus for years to come. His appearance at the University was recorded and can be viewed on YouTube.