Remembering the Holocaust
Located on the green slopes of Har HaZikaron (the Mount of Remembrance) in Jerusalem, Yad Vashem serves as Israel's main Holocaust museum and is a site that every visitor should experience while in the Holy Land.
Israel's Holocaust commemoration project began in 1953 with the task of perpetuating the memory of Holocaust victims and documenting the history of the Jewish people during the Holocaust so that it will be remembered by future generations. This project was an important step for the young nation of Israel at the time and was significant for the citizens of Israel, particularly for the survivors of the ghettos and concentration camps.
The new Yad Vashem museum was opened to the public in 2005. The museum is designed in the shape of a prism penetrating the mountain. Divided into nine galleries, the museum relates the stories of the Jewish communities before the Second World War and the series of events beginning from the rise of the Nazis to power, the pursuit of the Jews, their eviction to the ghettos, and ending with "the Final Solution" and mass genocide.
The personal experiences and feelings of the victims of the Holocaust constitute the groundwork for the museum's exhibits. Photographs, films, documents, letters, works of art, and personal items found in the camps and ghettos are all an integral part of the exhibits. As you exit the museum itself is the Hall of Names, an inspiring memorial containing over three million names of Holocaust victims that were submitted by their families and relatives. Names can still be submitted by visitors to the memorial and added to the computerized archive.
Visiting the Yad Vashem museum is an emotional and heartrending experience, but seeing the exhibits and remembering the Holocaust gives the more than one million individuals, world leaders, and dignitaries who pass through its doors annually a meaningful way to commemorate the six million Jewish victims of the Holocaust. For more information, visit the Yad Vashem website at www.yadvashem.org.
Originally published April 07, 2010.
