AUBURN — Elizabeth Helitzer, executive director, and David Greenham, program director of the Holocaust and Human Rights Center of Maine, will present “Kristallnacht and Relevant Lessons for Us” at 1 p.m., Sunday, Nov. 9, at Temple Shalom Synagogue-Center, 74 Bradman St.

For more information, call the synagogue at 786-4201.

This month, worldwide ceremonies will commemorate the program of terror known as “Kristallnacht” that occurred on Nov. 9 and 10, 1938, in Nazi-occupied Germany, Austria and Czechoslovakia.

These commemorations have been held for many years. The question is why. Why is it important that these conversations continue? Are there contemporary lessons that can be learned from these events? If so, what are they?

Helitzer and Greenham will lead a discussion addressing these questions. The hour-long dialogue will begin with a history of the events leading up to and through “Kristallnacht.”

The program will transition into a conversation about the U.S. civil rights movement, featuring a clip from the documentary “Freedom Riders.” This film is one in a four part-series called “Created Equal: America’s Civil Rights Struggle” that connects the stories of the decades-long civil rights struggle and addresses issues of race and rights.

During this portion of the program, Helitzer and Greenham will draw parallels between the roots of the Nazi Holocaust and the civil rights movement, as well as explore the implications of categorizing someone or a group of persons as “other.”

The Holocaust and Human Rights Center of Maine’s mission is to use the lessons of the Nazi Holocaust and other genocides to combat prejudice and discrimination in Maine and beyond.

The center encourages individuals and communities to reflect and act upon their ethical and moral responsibilities in the modern world. The center is open to the public Mondays through Fridays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and is located on the campus of the University of Maine at Augusta. For more information, visit hhrcmaine.org.