(IsraelNN.com) Last night and today mark the 66th anniversary of Kristallnacht, the night of broken windows, fire and looting in which thousands of synagogues and Jewish businesses throughout Germany and Austria were destroyed. A total of 101 synagogues were destroyed on this date in 1938, in what later was seen to be just a harbinger of the Holocaust to come. Over 150 more were partially burned, almost 7,500 Jewish businesses were destroyed, and 26,000 Jews were arrested and sent to concentration camps. Among the Jews physically attacked and beaten, 91 were killed.

To mark the date, as well as the regeneration of Germany's Jewish community - mainly the result of well over 100,000 Jews from the former Soviet Union in the past several years - ground was broken yesterday for a new synagogue to replace one of those burned down on Kristallnacht. "This is a sign of hope for a better future together," said Paul Spiegel, the head of Germany's Central Council of Jews.

The anniversary of Kristallnacht was also observed in Oslo last night, but the local TV2 News reported that no Norwegian Jews were present. TV2 also reported that the authorities, saying they didn't want trouble, forbade any Jewish symbols, including Stars of David and Israeli flags.