NEW YORK – November 08, 2026 -- The Center for Jewish History (CJH) and the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany (Claims Conference) will open the mixed-reality project Inside Kristallnacht to students and the public in Manhattan on November 30, timed to the 88th anniversary of the 1938 pogroms.
XR experience centers on testimony from Holocaust survivor Charlotte Knobloch
The program features Dr. Charlotte Knobloch, born in 1932, who recounts spending the night of November 9, 1938 on the streets of Munich with her father, fearing the Nazis would target their home. The experience combines her account with illustrated environments and archival material covering Kristallnacht and her subsequent survival. An interactive question-and-answer feature matches participants' questions to her prerecorded responses.
The source notes that more than 30,000 Jews were rounded up and sent to concentration camps during the state-sponsored riots in Germany, Austria and the Sudetenland.
CJH pairs the headset experience with educator-led discussion for middle and high school students
After the XR session, middle and high school students join guided reflection and can ask questions about the historical context. CJH has developed educational resources so teachers can prepare students before a visit and continue the discussion in class afterward.
Gabriel Sanders, CJH Chief Partnerships and Engagement Officer, who is leading the initiative, said the goal is for students to leave with "a personal connection to the people who lived it."
Claims Conference cites waning Holocaust knowledge among younger people
Claims Conference President Gideon Taylor pointed to surveys showing declining Holocaust knowledge among younger generations alongside rising antisemitism worldwide. He said the organization intends to keep Holocaust education accessible as technology evolves.
Inside Kristallnacht becomes first offering of CJH's Immersive Learning Initiative
The project is the first offering of CJH's Immersive Learning Initiative, which is being developed to create new ways to study Holocaust and Jewish history through testimony, technology and scholarship. CJH will also host Benno's Light, a Claims Conference-produced VR experience about Austrian Auschwitz and Buchenwald survivor Benno Kern. The program builds on CJH's work hosting school audiences at Anne Frank The Exhibition.
Inside Kristallnacht runs at 15 West 16th Street in Manhattan. The Claims Conference is supported by the German Federal Ministry of Finance.