The international KFC fast food chain has issued a public apology after offering a special sale in Germany for the 84th anniversary of Kristallnacht, the deadly pogrom that launched the Nazi Holocaust that took place November 9-10, 1938.
In an ad sent to thousands of customers via SMS, the company wrote: “on Kristallnacht Memorial Day, treat yourself to a crispy chicken.”
The ad sparked confusion – and outrage – on social media.
The company hastened to correct its faux pas with a second message that said:
“We apologize. Due to an error in our system, we sent an incorrect and inappropriate message through our app. We are very sorry about this. We will check our internal processes immediately, so this does not happen again. Please excuse this error.”
The government-coordinated attacks on Jews across Germany burned and destroyed hundreds of synagogues as well as thousands of businesses and homes. At least 91 Jews died in the violence; 30,000 Jewish men were rounded up that night and sent to concentration camps.
It was the start of an open nightmare that changed the lives of European Jews forever, forcing Jewish Germans to rethink their priorities and to realize for the first time that they would have to flee their homes in order to survive.
The anniversary of the deadly pogrom that launched the Holocaust has since sparked other antisemitic attacks against Jews around the world.
As Jews around the world commemorate Kristallnacht – a deadly pogrom carried out by the Nazis against Jewish businesses, schools, & synagogues – a Kosher eatery in NYC had its front door smashed in.
Is history repeating itself right before our eyes? pic.twitter.com/ygb8SMzndr
— StopAntisemitism (@StopAntisemites) November 9, 2022
Across Germany, many people call Kristallnacht “the November Pogrom” because the “Night of Shattered Glass” doesn’t come close to describing the bloody violence that took place.
