Vatican:German-born Pope Benedict XVI says he still feels the pain of Kristallnacht, the Nazi pogrom that effectively began Hitler s campaign to systematically destroy Jews in Europe.

Benedict was recalling the 70th anniversary today of the "Night of Broken Glass," when synagogues were trashed and around 30,000 Jewish men and boys sent to concentration camps.

The pope says he hopes the memory of those "horrors" will encourage people today to work against all forms of anti-Semitism.

Benedict is inviting prayers for Kristallnacht victims and wants others to join him in a show of deep solidarity with the Jewish world.

As a young man in Germany, Benedict, then called Joseph Ratzinger, served briefly in the Hitler Youth corps.
Source : PTI