Police leaders from around the world will gather at Berlin’s historic Neue Synagoge on November 5 for an international commemoration of Kristallnacht, reaffirming law enforcement’s responsibility to confront antisemitism, protect vulnerable communities and uphold democratic values.
The event, “Not on Our Watch – Operationalizing Never Again,” marks the 88th anniversary of Kristallnacht, the November 1938 attacks across Nazi Germany in which synagogues were burned, Jewish-owned businesses were destroyed and thousands of Jewish people were arrested and sent to concentration camps.
The gathering will bring police leaders from democratic nations together with Jewish community representatives inside a synagogue — a symbolic departure from the traditional role of officers providing security outside Jewish institutions.
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The event is part of the ongoing Operationalizing Never Again: Not on Our Watch initiative, which seeks to translate the lessons of the Holocaust into practical commitments to ethical police leadership, institutional accountability and the protection of human rights.
The initiative is advanced through the Rutgers University Miller Center on Policing and Community Resilience, the University of Virginia Center for Public Safety and Justice, and international law enforcement partners, in collaboration with the International March of the Living.
Through international police delegations to Auschwitz-Birkenau and other educational programs, the initiative has engaged law enforcement leaders in examining the role of policing during the Holocaust and the responsibility of today’s officers to recognize and confront hatred, discrimination and extremism before they escalate into violence.
The Berlin commemoration will build on that work, emphasizing the importance of police leadership in protecting democratic institutions and maintaining public trust.
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How to watch
The November 5 event will be livestreamed from the Neue Synagoge in Berlin through the official International March of the Living YouTube channel.
- Date: Thursday, November 5, 2026
- Time: 12:30–2:30 p.m. ET / 9:30–11:30 a.m. PT
- Location: Neue Synagoge, Berlin, Germany
- Watch live: https://www.youtube.com/live/ON5lgBJvfWw
The program will be presented in German and English. Organizers are working to provide live English subtitles for the German-language portions. If live subtitles are unavailable, a recording with English subtitles is expected to be made available following the event.
The livestream is open to the public.
