Holocaust memorials: Somber and creative reminders of history
The bronze outdoor sculpture, 42 feet high, shows a giant hand pointing skyward, with fingers outstretched. Near the wrist, the numbers of a tattoo are visible. And on the arm are small human figures, who seem to be reaching out in vain.
“The Sculpture of Love and Anguish,” designed by Kenneth Triester, is part of a Holocaust memorial in Miami Beach. The entire open air site- which includes much more than the sculpture- is one of the most eloquent Holocaust memorials in the United States.
A visit to this memorial, or to other memorials in varied cities, can add a new dimension to a travel experience.
Of course, the major Holocaust Museums in the U.S. − the largest one is in Washington, DC − are also well worth visiting. They are excellent and well-documented testaments to history.
But other cities without major Holocaust museums often have memorials − usually sculptures − that are highly creative and quite emotional in impact.
That is certainly true of the Holocaust Memorial in Miami Beach. Opened in l990 and located at 1933-45 Meridian Avenue in south Miami Beach, not far from the famed Art Deco district, it is an unusual blend of sculpture, nature and history. Its various sections take the visitor on a gradual journey that builds in intensity. First, an arbor leads to a walkway where images of Holocaust history are etched on black granite slabs.
Next, visitors walk through an archway in which an eternal flame is burning. They pass a granite wall on which names of thousands of Holocaust victims are etched.
And they walk through a tunnel constructed of Jerusalem stone. On these walls, the names of the death camps are printed. As they walk, they hear a recording of songs of the Holocaust- songs which were sung in the camps- performed by an Israeli choir.
The tunnel leads into a circular open area where the giant hand sculpture dominates. Also in this courtyard, smaller sculptures surround the large one. They show human figures in small groups, huddled and looking anguished,
Surrounding the sculpture area is a tranquil reflecting pool in which lilies are floating: a serene oasis amid the palm trees and tropical sunshine. This duality — of loss and anguish together with beauty and serenity— adds even more impact.
Over the years, hundreds of visitors have visited and reacted to this memorial, from schoolchildren who come on tours almost daily, to Holocaust survivors.
Another dramatic memorial is in San Francisco. Designed by George Segal, and titled simply “The Holocaust”, it is located in Lincoln Park, with a backdrop of tall, leafy trees and velvety grass to set off the somber memorial.
The sculpture shows ten emaciated bodies lying on the ground, their limbs entwined. A lone male figure is upright near these bodies, and he seems to stare out blankly from behind a barbed wire fence.
Four days after this memorial was dedicated in November of l984, it was desecrated by vandals. “Is this necessary?” they wrote, smearing black paint over the sculpted figures.
Outraged San Franciscans reacted by posting a guard nightly at the memorial, and an anonymous donor sent fresh flowers every day. That tradition continues. Often visitors will see sprigs of flowers near the sculpted white bodies.
Other Holocaust memorials are more abstract than Segal’s portrayal of human figures. For instance, the memorial in Baltimore, located at Gay, Lombard and Water Streets not far from the city’s popular Inner Harbor, is stark and symbolic in design.
In a one-acre park donated by the city, the memorial is a large cantilevered slab of concrete. Behind it is a park with six rows of slender flowering trees. The slab, which looks slashed, is intended to show how the Holocaust severed the lives of its victims. Near it, in large block letters, are the words HOLOCAUST MEMORIAL.
Also abstract in design is the New England Holocaust Memorial located in downtown Boston near Faneuil Hall. It is a striking sight— six tall glass towers, lined up in a row. Below the base of each tower is a deep pit with glowing embers, with smoke rising from each pit.
The memorial closest to home is on the Parkway at 16th Street in Philadelphia, Created by Nathan Rapoport, this 18 foot high bronze sculpture, titled “Holocaust”, is one large mass of huddled human shapes consumed in fire.
When it was dedicated in l964, this Holocaust memorial was the first of its kind in the U.S., and it remains a noteworthy landmark- somber and unnerving- on the Parkway.
On one side of its base, the names of death camps are etched. And the other side is an inscription that could serve for all Holocaust memorials:
“Now and forever enshrined in memory are the six million Jewish martyrs who perished in concentration camps, ghettos and gas chambers. In their deepest agony, they cling to the image of humanity.”