Yesterday marked the 65th anniversary of Kristallnacht, the bloody Nazi pogrom against German Jewry oft considered the beginning of the Holocaust, and which, in one night, left 100 Jews dead, 30,000 arrested (most of whom were later shipped to concentration camps), hundreds of synagogues torched, and 7,500 businesses destroyed.

In a rather fitting tribute commemorating the occassion, the foundation stone for a new synagogue was lain in Munich: “With the €57 million project, community leaders are seeking to restore Jewish life ‘where it used to be, in the city center.’ In addition to the new synagogue, a museum and cultural and community facilities will also be constructed by 2007. A kosher restaurant, Jewish school and daycare center are also planned.”

However, the commemoration, which was attended by German President Johannes Rau, did not go off without a hitch. “Police marksmen were ordered into Munich city centre […] to guard against the threat of a far-Right bomb attack on the city’s Jewish community centre. […] The draconian security measures follow the arrest six weeks ago of 14 militant neo-Nazis who were found with 4lb of TNT and plans to blow up the centre of Munich’s Jakobsplatz square.” 16 far-right extremists have been arrested in connection with the bomb threat.

Also, in Vienna, Austria, where, in 1938, dozens of Jews were killed and thousands were deported to German concentration camps, anti-Israel demonstrators gathered yesterday to disrupt an official Kristallnacht commemoration ceremony, during which “protesters waved Palestinian flags and barked catcalls against” the Jewish state. How appropriate. It’s so nice to know how much has changed in the last 65 years.

And in related news, only 58 years after they helped kill 10,000,000 people in Nazi death camps, and enslaved thousands more, IG Farben has filed for bankruptcy. Only 60 years?! Geez… You think they’d have stayed in business longer. Ironically enough, it appears the news was announced on the anniversary of Kristallnacht. How’s that for retribution? Too little, too late, no?