Checked against delivery. Translated from Norwegian.

Good evening to you all, on this peaceful November night in Oslo,

Kristallnacht in 1938, also known as the Night of Broken Glass. A night when glass and lives were shattered.

Synagogues, shop windows, homes – looted, set ablaze, destroyed – and Jews arrested, assaulted and humiliated.

Human dignity smashed to smithereens.

From that night on, lawlessness became the law.

And the path was laid – towards the Holocaust, the mass extermination of the Jews.

But Kristallnacht was not where it started.

This outburst of anger had been building up gradually, systematically throughout the 1930s, driven by an ideology – fascism, Nazism – and by individuals, with and without power, who wanted this to happen, who shaped the ideas and followed them through.

Who drew on old and new prejudices, conspiracy theories and – in a time before the age of algorithms – on fearmongering tactics, whose ideas and attitudes were not just dangerous, they were deadly.

And as so often in history, ideas and attitudes were translated into action. And used to legitimise violence.

We know that persecution does not come about overnight. Persecution is a deliberate strategy, and takes careful planning in the broad light of day.

Just as the registration and deportation of the Jews living in Norway in 1942 was painstakingly planned, for the most part by Norwegians.

And so, the question is: How far is Norway today, in 2025, from Nazi Germany in 1938?

The Second World War does not seem so very long ago. We may be 85 years on, but each year brings new books, films, podcasts, stories, research.

We are still discussing and trying to understand what happened, and how and why. The war is still ever-present, in our collective memory, all these years later.

It makes you wonder how deep the scars will be in those places where the horrors of war are currently unfolding – and how long, and for how many generations, those scars will shape people’s lives.

But at the same time our reality is far removed from the destruction and abuse of power seen on Kristallnacht in 1938.

We mark this day to remember and never forget – and because we must never stop learning about – the Holocaust; each new generation must learn that such a heinous crime could take place in the heart of Europe.

Today, we must try to understand what can make such evil happen; we must look out for and heed the warning signals, the danger signs:

Discrimination, harassment, hate speech, threats, individuals who are afraid to reveal their identity, groups singled out as scapegoats, groups being marginalised.

And the fact that many Norwegian Jews have made it clear that they do not want to be at this event today is another unmistakeable warning signal.

In our time, glass can be shattered online – on social media, in comment fields, and even at commemorations and other events. And it is often minorities that are the target – Jews, Muslims, Sámi people, Roma, queer and trans people, and others.

And that is precisely my point. We are so quick to describe people as ‘the others.’

But we must strive to create a society where there are no ‘others’ – no ‘us’ and ‘them’ – only ‘we’

And we must understand that when one group among us is attacked, it affects us all. Because it is human dignity and equality that are at stake – and under threat.

All people are born with the same dignity – and rights. And we have a moral responsibility towards our fellow human beings – we, us – everyone – in this country. A responsibility to show respect, consideration, to foster inclusion and build bridges.

A couple of weeks ago, I took part in the 100th anniversary celebration of the Trondheim Synagogue. There I was able to talk again with Chana Aberman, a Holocaust survivor, whom I had first met in January this year at the event commemorating the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau. More than 50 members of Chana’s family were murdered in the Holocaust, the greatest war crime in history. Today, she is 98 and lives in Trondheim.

And in Trondheim, I also had the chance to meet a witness of our own time, Norway in 2025, a young Jewish mother of three, Mathine Bodd Five, who spoke of her fear, anxiety and loneliness, especially after 7 October 2023, and of ‘social media boiling over with antisemitism’ – as she put it – and about her daughter who had been told to ‘…go back to the gas chamber’.

That is completely unacceptable. And it is why it is so important to commemorate Kristallnacht. Antisemitism is nothing other than a deep contempt for humanity and cannot be tolerated.

In Norway today, hate speech against any group is illegal. And it cannot be tolerated.

Eradicating an evil — such as racism — once and for all may seem like an insurmountable task. But each of us can do our part to ensure that xenophobic ideas and attitudes do not take root and flourish.

And at the same time, we can encourage one another not to answer hatred with more hatred.

And as Prime Minister, I would like to state that my Government and I will do everything in our power to protect, support and stand by the Jewish community in Norway – and our other minorities as well. All the people in our country must feel safe here.

Norway must be a country where people can say: I am proud to be Jewish. Proud of my faith, my history and my cultural heritage. We all – authorities and citizens alike – have a responsibility to make this the reality.

Friends,

Let us stand together tonight in defending tolerance, compassion and human dignity.