Yad Vashem: Marking (Jewish) victims of the Holocaust
The Holocaust History Museum is a state-of-the-art building within the Yad Veshem complex. This semi-submerged, one hundred and eighty metre long triangular prism structure slices through the mountain ridge, its dark concrete interior opening to a balcony which overlooks the valley below.
No filming is permitted inside so I make my way undistracted through the nine galleries which zigzag back and forth down the shaft of the building. The museum is structured in chronological order and uses personal testimonies, photos, artefacts, art and multi-media in an attempt to draw the visitor into the experience of the Jewish people.
Architecturally sophisticated and didactically rich, there were some very notable installations. This included a pile of shoes whose owners’ had perished, a collection of children’s paintings and Schindler’s handwritten list. However, the museum was somehow missing something; a feeling or a certain depth seemed lacking. Or, perhaps I have just done too much study on the horrors of this dreadful period. Perhaps I’m simply desensitised.
Once outside our group walks silently, deep in thought, along various paths as directed by our professor. We pause at each monument to pay tribute to those to whom it honours. I have included several below. The Pillar of Heroism acknowledges the Jewish resistance during the Holocaust. Whether in the camps, in the woods or elsewhere, the tall monument which is reminiscent of a concentration camp chimney, marks the courage of those who either died or “braved their way” to Israel.
Now and forever in memory of those, who rebelled in the camps and ghettoes, fought in the woods, in the underground and with the allied forces, who braved their way to Eretz Israel and those who died sanctifying the Name of God
The Children’s Memorial commemorates the one and a half million Jewish children murdered during the Holocaust. The most impressive feature of this memorial is a darkened room. Upon entry we hear the names, ages and birthplace of the children who perished (in Hebrew, English and Yiddish) and see nine portraits of individual children. Further inside is an installation comprising of five lit candles reflected by a multitude of mirrors on the ceiling and the floor. The effect is incalculable number of tiny flames in every direction, a dazzling visual display that resembles a starlit sky.
The Janusz Korczak Square pays tribute to Henrik Goldschmidt (pseudonym Janusz Korczak) who administered an orphanage in the Warsaw Ghetto. He was given the opportunity to save himself but chose to go to his death with his approximately two hundred wards. They were sent to Treblinka.
Janusz Korczak Square
Wall of Remembrance at one end of the Warsaw Ghetto Square marks the end of the linear Avenue of the Righteous among the Nations which leads to the Visitor’s Centre and entry gate. The wall features two bronze reliefs set into a red brick wall that symbolises the walls enclosing the Warsaw Ghetto. The first of the two sculptures depicts the vertically-positioned Warsaw Ghetto Uprising led by Mordechai Anielewicz who is featured in the centre of robust fighting men and women of various ages. The second sculpture renders The Last March to certain death. Here, the deportees trudge forward, Nazi soldiers at their rear. A pregnant woman, an old man, a young child … all are despondent. All but one. The central figure, a man carrying a Torah scroll, reaches out imploringly as if to plead for mercy.
Interestingly perhaps, the inscription in the wall reads (in Hebrew) “In your blood you shall live”. This is a quote from Ezekiel 16:6, in which God chastens His disobedient children.
We walk along the tree-lined Avenue of the Righteous among the Nations. On either side are trees rising above small plaques which honour non-Jews who risked their lives to save Jews.
Israel Museum
We visit three sites in the Israel Museum. Firstly, we explore the scale model of Jerusalem at the time it was at its largest, the year sixty-six AD (the year of the First Jewish Revolt). The scale is one to fifty such that every two centimetres in the model, represents one metre in the real structure. As a map lover, this three dimensional reconstruction is a brilliant way for me to confirm and clarify the sites I have visited with their situation in ancient Jerusalem.
Secondly, we traverse the Shrine of the Book, a museum containing excerpts from the Dead Sea Scrolls (see 11 June) and other important ancient manuscripts. It is built below a white dome and surrounding water feature which, together with a black wall, visually represent the tension between the “Sons of Light” (those living in the community at Qumran) and the “Sons of Darkness” (their opponents). Photography was not permitted in the galleries.
The Sons of Light and the Sons of Darkness
Thirdly, we visit the Israel Museum’s Archaeology Wing which features a vast array of artefacts. A number of the excavation sites to which we travelled had displayed replica items of artefacts unearthed. The priceless originals are housed and exhibited safely in this building. Examples include the four-horned altar (Be’er Sheva), the sacred stone on which was carved the bull-headed deity wearing a sword (Bethsaida), the stone marking the position of the trumpeter who heralded the Sabbath in and out (South Wall, Jerusalem) and the Latin dedicatory inscription to Pontius Pilate (Caesarea).
The highlight is seeing the two silver amulets engraved with Scripture, the oldest citations from the Hebrew Bible that have been uncovered to date. It is brilliant to see these tiny incised scrolls as I have researched them as part of my last subject! Also, it is a complete surprise to see them at all as I have read that they are being stored in London.
Another interesting find is the cabinet display of Hebrew seals. According to the information provided, such seals have been uncovered in abundance attesting to the widespread literacy rates in ancient Israel and Judah. Also, the presence of some seals exhibiting the names of women indicates that women were not precluded from societal advancement.
We have lunch and officially thank Siam for driving us throughout Israel and Palestine. The tour is over.
I go to an ATM and then to my hotel room to catalogue some more photos (I am the epitome of excitement).
Letting our hair down: Jerusalem Festival of Light
After dinner a group of us go to the Old Town. Incredibly a Festival of Light is being celebrated between 11 and 19 June. We follow the stings of coloured lights which mark (green, white, blue and red) paths that criss-cross the Jewish, Christian and Armenian Quarters of the city. Along the way are light installations of various kinds. It’s wonderful – we even have fairy floss!
What a sensational way to farewell the Holy Land.
Quiz question: Day 12
A statue exhibiting the symbol of Yad Veshem
The Holocaust memorial complex is called Yad Veshem. What is the significance of this name?
Blue Bus with Elvis 
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