Remembering Kristallnacht: Blood drive remembers those who died night the Holocaust began

PALM BEACH GARDENS — Jupiter resident Ira Jacobson is calling on residents of northern Palm Beach County to donate blood on Sunday to honor those who shed their blood during the Holocaust 85 years ago.

Jacobson, the Florida director of a nonprofit that supports Israel called Herut, organized a blood drive to mark the anniversary of Kristallnacht, often called “the night of broken glass,” which marked the beginning of the Holocaust.

Kristallnacht took place from Nov. 9-10 in 1938, when Nazi officials murdered hundreds of people, destroyed thousands of Jewish-owned businesses, synagogues and homes and took around 30,000 Jewish men to concentration camps.

“I organized this blood drive to bring this dark day of history to the forefront and give back to the community,” said Jacobson. “I don’t want the memory of those killed that night to be forgotten.”

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Donations will be taken from 10 a.m-4 p.m. at Publix plaza

The staff at OneBlood, a nonprofit that collects blood and donates it to patients in local hospitals, will collect blood from donors Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. in a bus, which will be parked by the Publix at the Promenade Shopping Plaza in Palm Beach Gardens.

Jacobson delivered about 200 flyers for the blood drive to local churches, synagogues, gyms and condo associations to spread the word.

“The rise in antisemitism now is out of control,” Jacobson said. “It’s really important that people have the knowledge of what’s going on in our society and never forget what took place in the past with the killing of 6 million Jews.”

Paul Caruso, OneBlood manager of donor recruitment in Palm Beach County, said it is the first time the organization held a blood drive to commemorate Kristallnacht. He hopes to collect 100 units of blood, one unit per donor.

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Caruso said the amount of OneBlood blood donors has dropped since business closures during the COVID-19 pandemic, causing fewer people to donate. Caruso said they often cannot meet demands from hospitals requesting blood for its patients who need it. 

The blood collected by OneBlood goes toward transfusions for people who have internal bleeding from car accidents, undergo chemotherapy or have major surgery, among other uses. One in three people need a blood transfusion at some point in their life, Caruso says.

“People’s lives are being saved every day from those that have donated blood,” Caruso said. “We encourage people to come to this blood drive because it’s not only a good cause to donate blood, but it’s a way to remember those whose lives were lost in such a horrible occurrence.”

Maya Washburn covers northern Palm Beach County for The Palm Beach Post, part of the USA TODAY Florida-Network. Reach her at[email protected]. Support local journalism:Subscribe today.