Keeping memory alive
Professor Henry Brodaty devers keynote; survivor Edel Fischer urges younger generations to keep Holocaust memory alive
A 98-year-old survivor who watched her Jewish school in Berlin burn delivered the emotional centrepiece of the NSW Jewish Board of Deputies 2026 Kristallnacht Commemoration at Moriah College on Monday night.
Edel Fischer recalled being sent to school on November 9, 1938. “I saw synagogues, shops, and homes burning,” she said. “My own Jewish school – and it was brand new – was alight.”
Unable at first to find a country that would take in Jewish refugees, her father managed to obtain limited Australian permits via the British embassy just in time.
“Thank you, Papa – you saved our lives,” Fischer said. Her message was clear: “This generation – please remember to tell your children and their children about that terrible time. It must not be forgotten.”
She then lit a memorial candle with 10-year-old Moriah schoolgirl Stevie Benjamin.
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