Remembering a night of terror, the birth of a ministry, and the faithfulness of God.
On the night of 9–10 November 1938, the streets of Germany and Austria erupted in violence against the Jewish people. Synagogues burned, businesses were smashed, homes ransacked, and Jewish families terrorised. The shattered glass littering the streets gave the event its name: Kristallnacht — the Night of Broken Glass.
The violence followed the shooting of German diplomat Ernst vom Rath in Paris by 17-year-old Herschel Grynszpan, whose Jewish family had been forcibly expelled from Germany. When vom Rath died on 9 November, Nazi leaders seized upon his death as a pretext to unleash coordinated attacks against Jewish communities.
The scale was staggering. More than 1,400 synagogues and Jewish places of worship were attacked, approximately 7,500 Jewish businesses were vandalised, and around 30,000 Jewish men were arrested, many imprisoned in concentration camps. At least 91 Jewish people were murdered during the immediate violence, with hundreds more dying in its aftermath.
Kristallnacht marked a decisive turning point. Years of discrimination, propaganda and restrictive laws had escalated into organised, state-sponsored terror. It foreshadowed the Holocaust and the systematic murder of six million Jewish people.
Yet amid this darkness, something remarkable was taking shape.
Across the Atlantic, Christian leaders in Philadelphia recognised the desperate plight of Europe's Jewish population. They understood that sympathy alone was insufficient; action was urgently needed.
On 1 December 1938, just three weeks after Kristallnacht, The Friends of Israel Refugee Relief Committee was established. Among those associated with its founding were two prominent evangelical leaders: Dr Lewis Sperry Chafer, founder of Dallas Theological Seminary, and Dr Harry A. Ironside, pastor of Chicago's Moody Church.
THE FOUNDERS OF THE FRIENDS OF ISRAEL. SEATED FROM LEFT TO RIGHT: LYDIA BUKSBAZEN, DR. VICTOR BUKSBAZEN, JUDGE EDWARD GRIFFITHS, REV. THEO WRAY, ROBERT GRASBERGER, AND DER. WALTER RIEMANN. STANDING, LEFT TO RIGHT: VICTOR BUKSBAZEN JR., REV. STEWART RANKIN, SECRETARIES MISS M. HUTISON AND MISS E. PHILLIPS, ROBERT EKELAND, DR. MELVIN FORNEY, LESTER O'FLAHERTY, MRS. MARY SMITH, AND ROBERT WOLF.
These respected Bible teachers affirmed God's enduring covenant promises to Israel. While the Nazi regime systematically stripped Jewish people of their rights, dignity and identity, these Christians recognised their continuing place in God's redemptive purposes. Their biblical convictions inspired practical compassion, providing relief and assistance to Jewish refugees fleeing persecution.
Remarkably, they chose the name The Friends of Israel a decade before the modern State of Israel existed. They believed Scripture's promises concerning the Jewish people's eventual return to their ancestral homeland remained certain.
"He who scattered Israel will gather him, and keep him as a shepherd does his flock." — Jeremiah 31:10
In May 1948, Israel declared its independence, marking a historic milestone in the Jewish people's return to their homeland.
Today, as antisemitism again manifests itself across our world, Kristallnacht remains a sobering warning of where unchecked hatred and indifference can lead. It challenges us never to remain silent in the face of prejudice and persecution.
But it also reminds us of an enduring truth: human evil cannot overturn the sovereign purposes of God.
As the Apostle Paul declared:
"For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable." — Romans 11:29
The broken glass of Kristallnacht reminds us of humanity's capacity for terrible evil. Yet the response that gave birth to The Friends of Israel reminds us that genuine faith must inspire compassion and action.
God has not forgotten His people, nor has He abandoned His promises. He remains faithful, steadfast and sovereign — yesterday, today and forever.
