Yad Vashem, Jerusalem

From Mount Herzl Har HaZikkaron Street leads to Har HaZikkaron, the Hill of Remembrance, with Yad Vashem, the Holocaust Memorial to the Jews murdered by the Nazis. The name Yad Vashem means "a memorial and a name" - referring to the words of the prophet Isaiah: "Thus saith the Lord, ... Even unto them will I give in mine house and within my walls a place and a name better than that of sons and daughters: I will give them an everlasting name, that shall not be cut off" (Isaiah 56,4-5). The decision to create this memorial to the millions of victims of National Socialism was taken by the Knesset in 1953, and it was built by the Office for the Commemoration of Martyrs and Heroes and inaugurated in 1957. We come first into the Avenue of the Righteous, which commemorates non-Jews who risked their own lives to save Jews. Israel bestows on them the honorary title of the "Righteous among the Gentiles", which carries with it the right to plant a carob-tree here bearing their name. The Hall of Remembrance is built of large blocks of undressed stone and roofed with a massive concrete slab. In the spacious windowless interior the names of the Nazi death camps are set into the floor in Hebrew and Latin lettering, and an eternal flame burns in memory of the dead. Opening off the main hall are a room containing the names of the victims, an exhibition, with photographs, a specialized library and an art museum with work by concentration camp inmates and by artists who have handled the theme of the Holocaust. Particularly moving for most visitors will be the Children's Memorial created in 1987. In a completely dark underground room are glass walls reflecting to and fro the flames of five candles and creating the effect of countless flames, each symbolizing the soul of a child. In the background can be heard a woman's voice giving the names of the children, their age and their place of birth. A recent addition (1990) is the Valley of the Communities: a re-afforested area with high walls bearing tablets commemorating communities exterminated by the Nazis. Within the extensive grounds of Yad Vashem are numerous works of sculpture and memorials on the theme of the Holocaust. Among the most impressive are Lea Michelson's "Silent Weeping", Ilana Gur's "Hope", Nandor Glid's "Dry Bones" and Boris Saktsier's "Korczak and the Children of the Ghetto" (commemorating a Polish teacher who went voluntarily into Treblinka extermination camp along with his children). Near the entrance to the Administration Building is a six-branched candlestick which is the symbol of Yad Vashem. Its six arms represent the six million Jews who perished at the hands of the Nazis.