German official warns of anti-Semitism ahead of remembrance day

German Minister of State for Culture Wolfram Weimer has warned of the resurgence of anti-Semitism in Germany and Europe, ahead of Sunday's anniversary of the 1938 Kristallnacht, or the Night of Broken Glass, in Nazi Germany.

"The pogrom night of November 9, 1938, was a barbaric crime that obliges us to this day," Weimer said in the statement.

"It shows where hate and indifference lead when the values of humanity and freedom are lost."

Turning to Germany today, Weimer said: "Anti-Semitism is not a shadow of the past; it is raging again in the glaring light of our present day."

He said that if Jewish children have to go to school under police protection, synagogues have to be guarded and Stars of David hidden, then that is "a cry - not only of fear, but to our conscience."

On November 9, 1938, synagogues burned across Germany. Jewish-owned shops were looted and destroyed. Jewish people were abused, arbitrarily arrested and murdered.

Weimer called for the commemorative events marking the anniversary to be understood as a sign of solidarity.

He said that remembrance of the victims of the pogrom night is also a commitment to an open, diverse and democratic society.