70 years since Kristallnacht

I ran across the headline in today's Globe, and as with most things Shoah-related, it made me think a little. For example, why is this still relevant in an age where we've stood helplessly by while watching disasters like Rwanda and Darfur? I can think of a couple of reasons, actually:

• The Shoah is a seminal event in modern history, and our way of thinking about current events is forever affected. Kristallnacht is seen as one of the major events along the road to the destruction of European Jewry.
• Kristallnacht, as an attack on Jewish businesses, makes clear that the Shoah was economic in its origins. The success of the Jewish minorities was one of the levers used by the Nazis to mobilize the hatred of the masses against Jews. This sort of thing goes on without end when any minority is seen to be more successful than members of the majority as a whole. The U.S. is unique in this aspect, in which such success is actually celebrated.