Holocaust History

I almost didn’t post this. Words — at least, mine — are inadequate. But, not posting something was worse.

Today, I went to Jerusalem’s Yad Vashem to visit the new Holocaust History Museum. The year-old museum, like its predecessor, tells the stories of the 6 million Jews killed by Hitler and many others. As I passed from exhibit to exhibit, I saw and heard (from hundreds of plasma screens and speakers) re-creations of the world that was destroyed — and I walked among original artifacts (diaries, art works, personal things) gathered from throughout Europe and Russia.

I was horrified. I was saddened. I was outraged.

One particularly moving part of the museum honors and remembers the 1.5 million children who were victims of the Holocaust. It’s a dark area, lit only by candles and I held onto a railing as I passed. Each candle represented a child who was killed during the Holocaust. A voice told me the name, age, and country of each lost child.

The museum was designed by Moshe Safdie. It is a triangle of stark reinforced concrete — and it seems as if most of it is underground. A skylight lets light into some of the exhibits. The last image is in the open air with a dramatic vista of Jerusalem.