As Europe grapples with a surge in antisemitism, one of Germany's most prominent Jewish leaders draws haunting parallels between current events and the infamous Night of Broken Glass. Dr. Charlotte Knobloch, who witnessed Kristallnacht as a six-year-old child, warns that public indifference today echoes the silence that preceded one of history's darkest chapters.

"I can still see the crowds, smell the burning synagogue, feel the heat of the flames," recalls Dr. Knobloch, her voice steady despite the weight of the memory. "We crept through back alleys and forests, desperately trying to hide my father – a well-known Munich attorney and senator. The next day's destruction is seared into my memory. The Nazis, I believe, orchestrated this chaos to gauge public reaction. The German people's silence spoke volumes."

Dr. Knobloch, who last week celebrated her 92nd birthday, serves as president of Munich's Jewish Community and stands as one of Germany's most influential Jewish voices. On that fateful night in 1938, her father, Fritz Neuland, received an anonymous phone call warning of imminent danger. He quickly gathered his family – all except his mother, who refused to leave – and attempted to reach his law office nearby, which he shared with the later Bavarian Prime Minister Wilhelm Hoegner.

A cautionary call to his office revealed the gravity of their situation. When an unfamiliar voice answered, Neuland, disguising his identity, inquired about his own whereabouts. The response – "We're also searching for Fritz Neuland" – confirmed his worst fears. That night, the Neuland family wandered Munich's darkened streets seeking sanctuary. Their attempt to warn a family friend ended in horror as they witnessed him being dragged from his home, bloodied, and beaten. This friend would later perish in Dachau after a brief release from an initial concentration camp internment.

"For a child, the terror was incomprehensible," Dr. Knobloch reflects, her gaze distant. "I couldn't understand why firefighters ignored the burning buildings. SS troops smashed windows and kicked down doors, dragging people into the street. Though I already knew Jews were unwelcome in Germany, watching this violence unfold – feeling the cold, sensing the panic – overwhelmed me. When I began to cry, my father held me close, warning that my tears could betray us. The mob didn't yet know we were Jewish, but discovery meant certain death in that atmosphere of hatred."

By nightfall, the family found refuge with a non-Jewish friend in Munich's outskirts. The violence of November 9-10, 1938, left hundreds of Jews dead, thousands arrested, and countless more deported to concentration camps. Synagogues across Germany burned while Jewish-owned businesses and property faced wholesale destruction. The Nazi-sanctioned "popular uprising" raged unchecked by law enforcement until dawn.

After the Holocaust claimed several family members, Dr. Knobloch married and contemplated leaving Munich. Circumstances kept her in Germany, where her father joined approximately 60 Jewish survivors in rebuilding Munich's devastated Jewish community.

Decades of relative calm followed, but recent years have brought disturbing changes. The rise of populist parties, particularly the far-right Alternative for Germany – some of whose members express Nazi sympathies – along with anti-Israel demonstrations at universities and growing fear among German Jews about wearing religious symbols in public, deeply trouble Dr. Knobloch.

"Today's Germany eerily echoes the 1920s," she observes. "Hitler's rise wasn't supernatural – he was democratically elected. While Jewish life here has evolved significantly since the 1930s and 40s, and antisemitism plagues the entire world, not just Germany, the crucial question remains: How does the public respond? Will people remain indifferent? Education and accurate historical information are our strongest weapons against hate."

In response to these concerns, Dr. Knobloch has partnered with the Claims Conference to launch an innovative virtual reality experience. The project, "Inside View of Kristallnacht," developed in collaboration with Meta, UNESCO, and USC Shoah, allows young people to witness the events through a child's eyes – her eyes. This educational initiative, designed for schools and institutions, harnesses cutting-edge technology to illustrate the dangers of antisemitism and xenophobia while highlighting hate speech's devastating consequences.

The post 86 years after Kristallnacht, Europe is the same appeared first on www.israelhayom.com.

Two Israeli F-16s and two German Eurofighters escorted an Israeli Air Force Gulfstream G-550 carrying the commanders of both air forces – Israel Air Force Commander Maj. Gen. Amikam Norkin and chief of the German air force Lt. Gen. Ingo Gerhartz – over the camp memorial outside Munich, while a third Eurofighter filmed the formation from the sky.

 Follow Israel Hayom on Facebook and Twitter

As the Israeli fighter jets approached the Dachau site, Norkin said: "From the past's memory of darkness we carry on our wings a future obligation, forever and ever."

Then the flyover passed above the Fürstenfeldbruck Air Base where 11 Israeli athletes and coaches were murdered during the 1972 Summer Olympics in a terrorist attack carried out by the Black September Palestinian terrorist group.

At the end of the aerial maneuver, a formal memorial service was conducted at the Dachau camp, with German Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer and Israeli Ambassador to Germany Jeremy Issacharoff in attendance.

Among the Israeli delegation members were descendants of Holocaust survivors, including Maj. Y, deputy commander of the IAF's 109th Squadron, who is a grandson of a Holocaust survivor of Dachau.

The military drill, dubbed Blue Wings 2020, will extend over two weeks and is being held as part of the Multinational Air Group exercise, which sees air forces from NATO and allied states engage in maneuvers.

It was the first joint exercise between the IAF and German Air Force to take place on German soil and was also the only international exercise the IAF is conducting abroad this year, due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The German Air Force held joint exercises in Israel last fall.

According to an IAF statement from earlier in the week, the purpose of the exercise was to continue enhancing the IAF's capabilities, maintain its readiness to contend with various scenarios and to continue strengthening its bonds and cooperation with allied air forces.

Subscribe to Israel Hayom's daily newsletter and never miss our top stories!

The post In historic first, Israel Air Force flies above Dachau camp in Germany appeared first on www.israelhayom.com.

The joint fly-over will pass above the former Nazi airfield Furstenfeldbruck near Munich, which is where Palestinian terrorists shot dead nine Israeli athletes and coaches and one German police officer at the 1972 Summer Olympics, and skirt the edge of the city of Dachau, where the Nazis established their first concentration camp in 1933.

 Follow Israel Hayom on Facebook and Twitter

It will be the first joint exercise between the IAF and German Air Force to take place on German soil and is also the only international exercise the IAF is conducting abroad this year, due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The German Air Force held joint exercises in Israel last fall.

According to an IAF statement, the exercise is being held to continue enhancing the IAF's capabilities, maintain its readiness to contend with various scenarios and to continue strengthening its bonds and cooperation with allied air forces.

"The IAF will participate in the exercise for the first time as Germany's guests", said Lt. Col. A, Commander of the 105th "Scorpion" Squadron, which operates "Barak" F-16C/D fighter jets. "This is an opportunity to showcase our abilities and learn about NATO's flight and training technique."

We will be "flying side by side with the Israeli Air Force for the first time in our history," Ingo Gerhartz, chief of the German Air Force, told the German press agency dpa on Thursday.

Gerhartz called the planned event "a moving sign of our friendship today" and a sign of determination to "fight anti-Semitism with the utmost consistency."

After the flyby, an official memorial ceremony at the Dachau concentration camp will be held. The ceremony will be attended by the German Defense Minister of Annegret Kramp Karrenbauer, Israel's Ambassador to Germany Jeremy Issacharoff, the commanders of both air forces and other dignitaries.

Deputy commander of the IAF's 109th Squadron, Maj. Y, a grandson of a Holocaust survivor of Dachau, will speak at the ceremony.

"On a tactical level, we have the incredible opportunity to learn from other air forces and train in unfamiliar territory and challenging conditions," concluded Lt. Col. A. "From a strategic standpoint, we are strengthening our ability to cooperate with other nations and air forces."

On July 26, the German Heron TP UAV aircraft finished its first test flight in Israel, in what defense officials hailed as "a significant and historic phase in the strategic cooperation" between Jerusalem and Berlin.

Subscribe to Israel Hayom's daily newsletter and never miss our top stories!

The post Israeli, German air forces to hold historic joint drill over German soil appeared first on www.israelhayom.com.