The beginning of the end for European Jewry came on November 9, 1938. Across Germany and in parts of Austria, attacks organized by Nazi party leaders and ignored by civil authorities decimated the synagogues, workplaces, homes, and cemeteries of Jewish citizens. Religious records and artifacts were confiscated, or smashed, or burned. Dozens were killed; thousands beaten; tens of thousands arrested and sent to concentration camps. From this day on, the genocidal intentions of Hitler’s regime were irrefutable.

Boulder’s Congregation Bonai Shalom observes this tragic anniversary with a memorial concert performed by guests the Colorado Hebrew Chorale on Saturday, November 9 at 7 pm at Bonai’s temporary home, the Unitarian Universalist Church, 5001 Pennsylvania Ave. The Chorale’s director and founder Carol Kozak Ward terms the concert’s content as consisting of “essential music” that highlights “a history of hope.”

The Chorale, which is celebrating its 21^st season this year, will perform selections of Jewish music in Hebrew, Yiddish, and English, ranging from the 18^th through the 20^th centuries. There will also a unique opportunity to hear from one of the choir’s own members, a survivor of the Holocaust.

78-year-old soprano Estelle Nadel is one of the “hidden children” of the Shoah – concealed by the righteous in defiance of Nazi orders. For two and a half years, she and her siblings kept under cover in Poland until the end of World War II. Her mesmerizing narrative is indescribably affecting. “It’s not an easy thing to do,” she stated in a 2009 interview with Douglas Brown of the Denver Post. “But I feel driven to do it.”

The concert is free, but donations are accepted. For more information, please contact Bonai Shalom at 303-442-6605 or office@bonaishalom.org.