Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial (Holocaust Martytrs' & Heroes' Remembrance Authority)

ATTENTIONTwice Turned Down. So far as I can tell, this web page shows more monuments on the grounds of the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial than any other source in the world. On June 27, 2011, I walked into the Secretariat Building of Yad Vashem and reached the office of Mr. Hagai Barnea, Hebrew Website Editor, Commemoration & Public Relations Division, Tel. +972 2 6443781. I showed him this web page -- and my web page about Holocaust memorials everywhere -- and asked him to direct me to someone familiar with Holocaust memorials worldwide in order to determine how Yad Vashem might be able to help me correct my errors and omissions. Mr. Barnea said that it would be impossible for him or for anyone else at Yad Vashem to identify such a person except by receiving and circulating an email request. I offered to write such an email on the spot, but Mr. Barnea said that it would take several days for the Secretariat to process my request and that I would have to send the email after returning to America, which I did repeatedly over the next two months. Finally, on Sept. 25, 2011, I received the following reply: "My apologies for the delay in reply, and for any inconvenience caused when you visited in June. As the Jewish people’s living memorial to the Holocaust, and the world center for documentation, research, education and commemoration of the Holocaust, Yad Vashem has contacts with many different Holocaust organizations and archives around the world. Our contacts with these institutions are not something that we are at liberty to share with outside parties, and we therefore cannot help you with your request for an exchange of information. Thank you for your understanding in this matter. Yours sincerely, Amanda Smulowitz, Commemoration and Public Relations Division, Jerusalem."

N.B.: This web page shows about 30 monuments on the grounds (campus) of the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial in Jerusalem (Israel).
Click here for about 30 other peace monuments elsewhere in the City of Jerusalem. | Click here for about 80 peace monuments in all other
parts of Israel & Palestine. | Click here for an interactive vocabulary of the Israel/Palestine conflict. | Click here for a reading list. | Click here for the official Yad Vashem website. | Click here for access information. | Click here for the Wikipedia article about Yad Vashem. | Click here for "Monuments in Israel Commemorating the Holocaust" by Batya Brutin. | Click here for "Monuments in Israel Commemorating the Holocaust" by Batya Brutin (of Beit Berl College) in the Jewish Virtual Library. (Click here for an illustrated version of the same document.) | Click here for Holocaust monuments worldwide.

Yad Vashem is one of the world's largest concentrations of peace monuments.
Comparable concentrations exist in Hiroshima (about 75 monuments) & Nagasaki (about 50 monuments).

Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial at foot of Mount Herzl (Mount of Memory), Jerusalem (Israel). Yad Vashem is now a 45-acre "campus" to which many museums, memorials, sculptures, gardens, archives, research institute, synagogue, library, publishing house, International School for Holocaust Studies & other monuments have been added over the years. Yad Vashem is the second most visited tourist site in Israel, after the Western Wall, with over 800,000 visitors in 2009. Admission is free. See Video & Website. This web page has three parts: Part I (Yad Vashem 1953 to 2005, Part II (Yad Vashem since 2005), and Part III (Vicinity of Yad Vashem).

Part I (Yad Vashem 1953 to 2005)

O L D . M A P

Administration Building Cafeteria (gone?) Children's Memorial Hall of Names Art Museum (former) History Museum (replaced) Ohel Jiskor=Hall of Remembrance Partisans Memorial Synagogue (replaced) Avenue of the Righteous (long) Cave of Remembrance (gone?) Wall of Remembrance 1 Czerniakov Memorial (gone?) 2 "Hope" (not found) 3 Six-Branch Candlestick 4 Korczak & Children 5 Pillar of Heroism 6 "Silent Weeping" (not found) 7 "Dry Bones" 8 "Ultima" (not found) 9 "Unknown Righteous Man" 10 "Auschwitz" (not found) 11 Statue of Job (by Rapoport)

V I C I N I T Y . M A P

September 1942 - "A memorial was first proposed in September 1942 at a board meeting of the Jewish National Fund (JNF or KKL) by Mordecai Shenhavi, a member of Kibbutz Mishmar ha-Emek. Shenhavi even proposed the name "Yad Vashem" (literally 'a monument and a name') taken from Isaiah 56:5." The Yad Vashem Law was eventually brought to the Knesset by the Minister of Education Prof. Ben-Zion Dinur [1884-1973], one of the foremost historians of his day, and the first Chairman of Yad Vashem [1953-1959]." /// Isaiah 56:5: "And to them will I give in my house and within my walls a memorial and a name (Yad Vashem) that shall not be cut off."

April 12, 1951 - Decision du Parlement israelien (Knesset) a l'occasion de la fixation du jour national du souvenir (Yom Ha-Shoah Ve Mered Ha-Getaot).

August 19, 1953 - "The Knesset Law stipulates that Yad Vashem be established in Jerusalem & serve as a memorial to the six million Jews murdered by the Nazis & their collaborators, to the families that were destroyed, to the Jewish communities & their communal, cultural & religious institutions that were annihilated, to the courage valor of the Jews - ghetto inmates, soldiers & underground activists, to the struggle of the masses of the House of Israel for their human dignity & Jewish culture, and to the Righteous Among the Nations." /// "The law was printed in Hebrew, English & French. The English version translates shoah as 'Disaster,' while the French version of the Knesset law uses 'l'Holocauste' on two occasions. In 1953-1955, shoah at Yad Vashem was usually translated into English as 'Disaster' (capitalized with few exceptions), 'the Great Disaster,' 'the Destruction Period,' and 'the European catastrophe' (this last usually uncapitalized)" (per Jon Petrie, jon_petrie@yahoo.com).

M U S E U M

1956 or 1958 - Historical Museum, Yad Vashem, Jerusalem (Israel). "Had its inception in 1956 as a small exhibit in the basement of the administration building (left image) & later moved to the ground floor of the Hall of Remembrance. In 1973 the museum doubled in size and a new chronological-thematic exhibition format was introduced. Visual and textual documentation combined with artifacts and brief explanatory notes to tell the story from the Nazis' rise to power through the first postwar years." /// "The first permanent exhibit opened in the administration building in 1958. Additional photos, documents & artwork were added over the years. In 1965 a permanent exhibit was established in the new museum building. In 1973, the permanent exhibit today was opened - the first of its kind in the world." Replaced in 2005. Right image shows the entrance to Yad Vashem in the early years.

F L A M E

April 1961 - Eternal Flame, Hall of Remembrance (Ohel Jiskor), Yad Vashem, Jerusalem (Israel). Architect: Aryeh Elhanani Eternal Flame: Kosso Eloul. Southern gate: David Palombo. Western gate: Bezalel Schatz. "Continuously illuminates the Hall from a base fashioned like a broken bronze goblet, its smoke exiting the building through an opening at the highest point of the ceiling. Before it stands a stone crypt containing the ashes of Holocaust victims, brought to Israel from the extermination camps... The hall has walls made of basalt boulders brought from the area surrounding the Sea of Galilee, an angular roof that gives it a tent-like shape and engraved on the mosaic floor the names of 22 of the most infamous Nazi murder sites."

S C U L P T U R E 1961? - "Depiction of the Valley of Dry Bones," Yad Vashem, Jerusalem (Israel). When dedicated? On exterior of the Hall of Remembrance. The reference to "dry bones" is from a passage in Ezekiel 37:14 about the valley of dry bones with its picture of human devastation.

A V E N U E 1962 - Avenue of the Righteous Among the Nations, Yad Vashem, Jerusalem (Israel). Crossed by the new Holocaust History Museum (which opened in 2005). "Trees have been planted around the Yad Vashem site in honor of those non-Jews who acted according to the most noble principles of humanity by risking their lives to save Jews during the Holocaust. Plaques adjacent to each tree record the names & countries of origin of those being honored."

T R E E 1962 - Oskar Schindler's Tree, Garden of the Righteous Among the Nations, Yad Vashem, Jerusalem (Israel). Right image shows Schindler at the tree in 1970.

1963 - "Yad Vashem embarked upon a worldwide project to grant the title of Righteous Among the Nations to non-Jews who risked their lives to save Jews during the Holocaust. To this end, Yad Vashem set up a public committee headed by a retired Supreme Court justice, which is responsible for granting the title. This project is the only one of its kind in the world that honors, using set criteria, the actions of those individuals who rescued Jews during the war. The Righteous program and the trees planted on the Avenue of the Righteous Among the Nations have received world coverage, and the concept of Righteous Among the Nations coined in the Yad Vashem Law has become a universal concept and an important symbol. As of January 2004, 20,205 people have been recognized as Righteous Among the Nations. In addition, Yad Vashem has been developing a comprehensive encyclopedia - The Lexicon of the Righteous Among the Nations - that will eventually include the stories of all the Righteous Among the Nations."

S C U L P T U R E After 1964? - Czerniakow Memorial, Yad Vashem, Jerusalem (Israel). When dedicated? Still exists? "Adam Czerniakow [1880-1942], a balding engineer in his early 60's, headed the Warsaw Ghetto's Judenrat (Jewish Council) for nearly three years. He wrote almost daily in his diary, which eventually consisted of nine notebooks. The fifth notebook is missing, yet it remains unclear how any part of this important diary survived at all. Rosalia Pietkiewicz, a Warsaw Ghetto survivor, purchased it from an unidentified source in 1959. The original copy has been at Yad Vashem since 1964. Czerniakow's reports, many of which begin with the morning temperature, reveal him to be a modest man who worked against impossible odds to save Jewish lives. His last entry, dated July 23, 1942, states: 'It is 3 o'clock. So far 4000 are ready to go. The orders are that there must be 9000 by 4 o'clock.' The numbers refer to the daily quota of Jews that the Nazis required the Judenrat to assemble for 'resettlement.' All but a relative few of the Warsaw Ghetto's Jews perished in the Holocaust. A majority were deported to Treblinka and gassed. Especially distressed by his inability to save the ghetto's children, Czerniakow committed suicide on July 23, soon after writing his diary's final entry."

S C U L P T U R E 1968 - Statue of Job, near entrace to Yad Vashem Art Gallery. By Nathan Rapoport [1911-1987]. Donated by Sylvia & Dr. Murray Fuhrman [1912-1994], New York. "A duplicate cast stood in the Fuhrmans' garden until 1986, when they donated it to the City of New York [image at far right]."

S C U L P T U R E March 8, 1970 - Pillar of Heroism, Yad Vashem, Jerusalem (Israel). "Erected after the Six-Day War in 1967, when Israel was still enjoying its victory." Designed by Buky Schwartz [1932-2009]. "Commemorates Jewish resistance during the Holocaust. The inscription on the concrete block reads: "Now and forever in memory of those who rebelled in the camps and ghettos, fought in the woods, in the underground and with the Allied forces; braved their way to Eretz Israel; and died sanctifying the name of God." Left image show unveiling in 1970; note hill not yet landscaped. /// Schwartz also made "Gates" at Yad Vashem (1969) & Memorial to Jonathan Netanyahu in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (1986).

WALL & SCULPTURES 1975-6 - Wall of Remembrance (Monument to the Warsaw Ghetto), Warsaw Square, Yad Vashem, Jerusalem (Israel). The 1973 square is the venue of the annual Holocaust Martyrs & Heroes Remembrance Day ceremony (which had until then been held in front of the Hall of Remembrance). The square contains "two sculptures set in a wall of red bricks, which symbolize the ghetto walls. In the center of the first sculpture, entitled 'The Warsaw Ghetto Uprising,' stands the leader of the uprising, Mordechai Anielewicz [1919-1943]. The second sculpture, entitled 'The Last March,' depicts the mass deportation of the Jews to the death camps." Both by Nathan Rapoport [1911-1987]. The first sculpture is a reproduction of his monument in Warsaw (Poland). See Rapoport's other Holocaust monuments in Israel & USA.

S C U L P T U R E 1976 - Children's Memorial, Yad Vashem, Jerusalem (Israel). Designed by Moshe Safdie. Two different clusters of white pillars. The lower cluster leads to an underground cavern (right image). "A tribute to the approximately 1.5 million Jewish children who perished during the Holocaust. Walking through the [cavern in the dark], visitors hear the names of murdered children, their ages & countries of origin in the background." When they emerge into daylight, they are immediatly confronted with a view of Deir Yassin on the other side of Jerusalem Forest.

S C U L P T U R E 1987 - Image of two-year-old Uziel Spiegel at entrance to the Children's Memorial. Etched into stone. Spiegel was killed at Auschwitz. Memorial was funded by his parents, Abraham & Edith Spiegel, of Beverly Hills, California (USA).

S C U L P T U R E 1978 - "Janusz Korczak & the Children of the Ghetto," Janusz Korczak Square, Yad Vashem, Jerusalem (Israel). "Sculpture [by Boris Saktsier] of the great Polish-Jewish educator Dr. Henrik Goldschmidt [1878-1942] - known by his pseudonym Janusz Korczak - stands in the center of a group of children and shelters them with his body and his outstretched, embracing arms. The figure of Korczak is considerably bigger than the figures of the children. Only his face and hands are visible, uniting the group with their embrace. The children are tall and skinny, their hands long and lifeless and their heads drooping. Janusz Korczak & the children of his orphanage were sent to the Treblinka death camp on August 5, 1942. Every year on this date a memorial ceremony is held at the monument, attended by members of the Korzcak Society in Israel, including several of the children under his care who survived the war."

S C U L P T U R E 1979 - Dachau Memorial, Yad Vashem, Jerusalem (Israel). Also called the "Torah Memorial." Cast bronze reproduction by Marcelle Swergold of the famous "International Monument" by Nandor Glid [1924-1997] at Dachau Concentration Camp near Munich, Bravaria (Germany). Near the Memorial to the Death March Victims (qv). Temporary white construction fence in the middle image. Right image shows Deir Yassin (qv) visible from the Dachau Memorial.

C A V E

June 14-18, 1981 - Cave, Yad Vashem, Jerusalem (Israel). Inscription: "In this cave are memorial stones for victims of the Holocaust brought by the participants in the World Gathering of Holocaust Survivors, held in Jerusalem on June 14-18, 1981." Both photos made June 27, 2011.

M U S E U M 1982 - Museum of Holocaust Art. "In 1982 the Museum of Holocaust Art was established at Yad Vashem. The Museum of Holocaust Art has amassed over the years the most important collection in the world of original artwork from the Holocaust period. This collection, which includes about 8,000 pieces, is an important national property that serves as a living testimonial to the triumph of the human spirit." /// "The auditorium, synagogue & art museum [were] built in 1982. The art museum displays works by survivors, composed both during and after the Holocaust, and works by other artists on themes related to the Holocaust." Replaced in 2005?

S C U L P T U R E 1985 - Menorah (Six-Branch Candlestick), Yad Vashem, Jerusalem (Israel). Also called candelabra. Stainless steel monument designed in the form of a six-branched memorial light, representing the six million Jews murdered in the Holocaust. Designed by Zohara Schatz [1916-1999]. Lit every year on Holocaust Martyrs' & Heroes' Remembrance Day. Not shown on the new map, this monument stands among trees near the Children's Memorial & the Administration Building. Used for the Yad Vashem logo (or vice versa?). But is it being replaced by the emblem designed by Prof. Yarom Vardimon (images at far right)? Both symbols are used on the cover of the Yad Vashem brochure (as of June 27, 2011).

S C U L P T U R E 1985 - Memorial to the Jewish Soldiers & Partisans, Yad Vashem, Jerusalem (Israel). Six stone blocks forming Star of David. "Approximately 1,500,000 Jews fought against the Nazis, as Allied soldiers, as partisans, in the resistance movements & in the ghettos. This monument is dedicated to the hundreds of thousands who lost their lives in this struggle. Sculptor: Bernard Fink."

S C U L P T U R E 1987 - "Memorial of the Anonymous Rescuer," Same as "Unknown Righteous Man" (see map)? Yad Vashem, Jerusalem (Israel). Red granite sculpture by Shlomo Selinger.

S C U L P T U R E June 18, 1988 - Nieuwlande Monument, Yad Vashem, Jerusalem (Israel). "A unique instance of collective rescue activity took place in the Dutch village of Nieuwlande. In 1942 and 1943 the village inhabitants resolved that every household would hide one Jewish family or at least one Jew. Given the collective nature of the activity, the danger to the village was small, there was no fear of denunciation since all the village dwellers were partners to the "crime". All 117 inhabitants of that village were recognized as "Righteous Among the Nations". Arnold Douwes, the son of a pastor, was recruited for the underground by Johannes Post, a farmer and town counselor in the village of Nieuwlande. Post had never had very much to do with Jews or Judaism, but when antisemitic measures were introduced, he threw himself body and soul into the effort to help Jews on the run. Already before Post's death Douwes had taken over. Jews ordered to report to Westerbork were sent to him by the undergound. He in turn, scoured the countryside to find families to shelter them. In addition, Douwes provided the fugitives with food, new identification papers, and financial support."

S C U L P T U R E 1990 - "In Memory of the Death March from Dachau," Yad Vashem, Jerusalem (Israel). By Hubertus Von Pilgrim. From plaque: "Gift of the City of Gauting, Germany. On the 26th of April 1945, 7000 prisoners were forced on a death march. Only a few survived. Eight identical sculptures were placed in villages where the victims passed. The ninth was erected in their memory here at Yad Vashem, Jerusalem." Note the Dachau Memorial in background of right image. Image at far right is Denkmal für die Todesmärsche in Fürstenfeldbruck, Bravaria (Germany).

T R A I N

1990 - Cattle car, Yad Vashem, Jerusalem (Israel). Sometimes called "Auschwitz Wagon." "Used by Nazis to transport Jews to death camps. Given to Yad Vashem by Polish authorities. Now part of a memorial designed by Moshe Safdie, it sits on a severed railroad track jutting out over the slope of a hill, suspended between heaven & earth." Inscribed on on railing is poem "written in pencil in the sealed railway car" by Dan Pagis: "here in this carload / I am Eve / with Abel by son / if you see my other son / cain son of man / tell him I"

A M B U L A N C E Date? - Swedish Ambulance, Yad Vashem, Jerusalem (Israel). Unintentional monument. "Towards the end of Word War II when Nazi Germany's defeat became inevitable, Count Folke Bernadotte, representing the Swedish Red Cross, reached an agreement with top SS leaders, for the release of a number of prisoners from German Concentration Camps. This is one of 36 busses of the Swedish Red Cross which managed to enter Germany on March and April 1945 and transported 25,000 prisoners, among them several thousand Jews, mainly women, from Germany to Sweden. The ambulance was donated by the Swedish Israeli Friendship Society." Inerior photographed June 27, 2011 (right image).

M E M O R I A L 1992 - Valley of the Communities, Yad Vashem, Jerusalem (Israel). Designed by Lipa Yahalom [1913-2006] & Dan Zur/Tsur. ("Yahalom said that he was not completely satisfied with the Yad Vashem complex & the memorial ritual in general.") "A massive 2.5 acre monument literally dug out of the natural bedrock. The names of over 5,000 Jewish communities that were destroyed or barely survived in the Holocaust are engraved on its 107 walls. In the center of the monument stands Beit Hakehillot (House of Communities), which houses a gallery for temporary exhibitions. Visitors can also see a short film there, depicting the world that was." /// "Original design called for excavating beneath the hill, thereby recalling the wound inflicted on the Jewish people. The architects were inspired by the vision of the Valley of the Dry Bones as described by the Prophet Ezekiel (37: 1,5): 'The hand of the Lord was upon me, and carried out in the spirit of the Lord, and set me down in the midst of the valley which was full of bones... Thus said the Lord God unto these bones: Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and you shall live.' Dug deep into the bedrock with walls rising up from the depths, the Valley breathes life into the communities engraved on its walls. It is made up of over 100 open-air sections separated from each other by walls of Jerusalem stone. Seen in its entirety from above, the site looks like a maze of ruins, depicting a world that has all but disappeared."

S C H O O L 1993 - International School for Holocaust Studies, Yad Vashem, Jerusalem (Israel). "Conducts educational programs & produces educational materials for a variety of target populations & educational organizations in Israel & abroad. Over 100 staff members work together with thousands of teachers, students, soldiers & pupils each year to promote Holocaust education & remembrance. Holocaust education is interdisciplinary, multi-faceted & multi-directional, focusing on how individuals lived before, during & after the Holocaust. The only school of its kind in the world."

S C U L P T U R E 1995 - "Jar in Stone-Ware," Yad Vashem, Jerusalem (Israel). By Peter Brandes of Denmark. Plaque: "Donated by Marcus Choleva, Denmark, Holocaust Survivor, Inmate in Theresienstadt, 1943-1945." Both photos take June 27, 2011.

P L A Z A + S C U L P T U R E 1995 - Family Plaza, International School for Holocaust Studies, Yad Vashem, Jerusalem (Israel). "Endowed by Felix & Ruta Zandman in memory of their families who perished in the Holocaust. Within the plaza is a [steel] sculpture, strategically placed to overlook the impressive view of Jerusalem & its suburbs, by renowned artist Menashe Kadishman, winner of the Israel Prize for Art in 2000. The sculpture, which was also endowed by Ruta & Dr. Felix Zandman, was inspired by Zandman's personal story during the Holocaust." All photos taken June 27, 2011.

G A R D E N 1996 - Garden of the Righteous Among the Nations, Yad Vashem, Jerusalem (Israel). "Honors the thousands of non-Jews who risked their lives to save Jews during the Holocaust. Their names are engraved in alphabetical order on walls arranged according to country." "The Garden of the Righteous Among the Nations, in which marble plaques have been engraved with the names of the rescuers according to country, was inaugurated in 1996. Ceremonies in which the title of Righteous Among the Nations is granted are held in the Garden."

P L A Q U E + T R E E 1996 - Plaque & Tree for Varian Fry, Yad Vashem, Jerusalem (Israel). American journalist Varian Fry [1907-1967] is known as "The American Schindler." He became the first US citizen to be listed in the Righteous among the Nations in 1995. (Fellow Americans Waitstill Sharp & Martha Sharp were added in 2006.) "Fry ran a rescue network in Vichy France that helped approximately 2,000 to 4,000 anti-Nazi & Jewish refugees to escape Nazi Germany & the Holocaust... Instrumental in getting Fry the visas he needed was Hiram Bingham IV [1903-1988], American Vice Consul in Marseille who fought against State Department anti-Semitism... Fry [also] relied on Robert Dexter [1887-1955] of the Unitarian Service Committee in Lisbon to help the refugees he sent." Plaque photographed June 27, 2011. Tree planted by Fry's son (right image).

C A V E ? 1996? - Cave of Remembrance, Yad Vashem, Jerusalem (Israel). "Yad Vashem solicitation irks Holocaust survivors" Friday, May 10, 1996 | by NAOMI SEGAL, Jewish Weekly: JERUSALEM - Holocaust survivors have reacted angrily to a fund-raising campaign by the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial. In a letter sent to Holocaust survivors, Yad Vashem said families could purchase plaques with the names of loved ones who perished in the Holocaust. The cost of the plaques would range from about $500 to $1,500, depending on the size of the plaque. "After I received the letter, I couldn't sleep all night," Paula Tik, a 66-year-old survivor who lost her family in the Holocaust, told the Israeli daily Yediot Achronot. "I felt angry, insulted and hurt. I would like to remember dozens of my relatives who perished, and such a plaque could be the only grave that memorializes them, but I can't economically handle it." Amcha, an organization which provides support for survivors and their families, said the project was insensitive. "We think memorializing the victims of the Holocaust is very important for survivors to fulfill a need to feel they have done everything to honor their loved ones' memories in a dignified way. Amcha would expect that there would be great sensitivity to such a matter, to ensure that there is no inequality between victims." Yad Vashem said in response that the "Cave of Remembrance," where the plaques are to be placed, was only an additional option for remembering the Holocaust victims, and that the idea was first proposed by numerous families who sought such an expression. Yad Vashem has the "Hall of Remembrance," where victims of the Holocaust are commemorated at no cost, said Avital Bar, a spokeswoman for Yad Vashem. The way for the new project was cleared in 1994, when Israel's Supreme Court rejected a petition against it. The justices ruled that Yad Vashem was acting within its statutory authority in establishing the new remembrance hall, and was authorized to receive contributions for special purposes under agreements reached between the contributor and Yad Vashem."

S C U L P T U R E September 17, 2003 - "For is the tree of the field man," Partisans' Panorama, Yad Vashem, Jerusalem (Israel). Dedicated in Yad Vashem's Jubilee Year by Maj.-Gen. Moshe (Bugi) Ya'alon & members of the Karten family who donated the Partisans' Panorama. /// "Pays tribute to the Jewish fighters who joined the partisans during the Holocaust. The sculptor, Zadok Ben-David, chose the tree as a symbol of the partisan fighter, whose life depended on the forest & its trees as a place to hide. Its names is from Deut. 20:19. On a nearby stone the words of the partisans' anthem are engraved in Hebrew, Yiddish & English. Architect: Dan Zur." Has view of Jerusalem Forest.

Part II: Yad Vashem, since 2005

N E W . M A P

1 Visitors Center (new) 3 Cafeteria (new) 4 Avenue of the Righteous (short) 5 History Museum (new) 6 Hall of Names (new) 7 Square of Hope (new) 8 Art Museum (new) 9 Synagogue (new) 10 Exhibitions Pavilion 11 Visual Center (new?) 12 Learning Center (new?) 13 Hall of Remembrance 14 Pllar of Heroism 15 Children's Memorial 16 Korczak Square 18 Family Plaza 19 International School 21 Partisans Memorial 22 Partisans Panorama 23 Valley of Communities 24 Cattle Car 25 Wall of Remembrance 25 Warsaw Ghetto Square 26 Swedish Ambulance 27 Le Cambon-sur-Lignon 28 Nieuwlande Monument 29 Garden of the Righteous

V I C I N I T Y . M A P

ENTRANCE & EXIT 2005 - New Entrance & Exit, Yad Vashem, Jerusalem (Israel). Inscription on exit says in English: "I will put my breath into you and you shall live again, and I will set you upon your own soil." (Ezekiel 37:14). /// "This verse comes at the end of the passage about the valley of dry bones with its picture of human devastation."

VISITORS CENTER 2005 - New Visitors Center, Yad Vashem, Jerusalum (Israel). "Architect - Moshe Safdie. Donor - David & Fela Shapell. Entrance level serves as a place of orientation, information, reception & gathering. Opens in all directions to views of the campus & surrounding landscape. On the floor below, open to the view of the valley, are visitor services, a cafeteria, restrooms & checkrooms. Below this are the parking levels." Note nearby residential community in the right image.

M U S E U M March 15, 2005 - Holocaust History Museum (EXTERIOR), Yad Vashem, Jerusalem (Israel). Designed by Moshe Safdie of Somerville, Massachusetts (USA). A prism-like triangular structure 180 meters long, in the form of a spike, which cuts directly through the mountainside. Visitors enter the museum near ground level. The sky and sunlight are readily visible through a skylight. /// "The only new building not following the mandate that Jerusalem stone be used. The reason is that the Shoah is not an Israeli experience; it is an out of Israel experience and thus should be made with 'out of' Israel material." Click here for detailed description.

S Q U A R E Date? - Square of Hope, Yad Vashem, Jerusalem (Israel).

M U S E U M March 15, 2005 - Holocaust History Museum (INTERIOR), Yad Vashem, Jerusalem (Israel). "Nine underground galleries tell the story of the Shoah from the point of view of the Jews. The chronological & thematic narrative is punctuated by a look into the worlds of Jews who lived - and died - under the Nazis and their collaborators. The exhibits incorporate a wide variety of original artifacts, testimonies, photographs, documentation, art, multimedia & video art." /// "Yad Vesham is a landscape in remembrance of the heroes and lost lives of the Holocaust; and evolved over a series of generations. The different buildings plotted in the landscape are designed to follow the communities ideology adopted at the time. Initially, the buildings’ designed, in the 1970's and until the mid 1980's, signified and glorified fighters and heroes. Starting from the late 1980's, the communities ideology shifted to denote respect for the losses of life and perception of survivors’ trauma... Single file movement, forced by a tight space, concept is used in two different ways in Yad Vesham. The inscribed diameter of the prism like main museum circulation path narrows at the darkest point of the path. Also, In the children's museum, the entrance is through a small door and then bunker like tunnels, leading to a dark room. Due to the circulation path this subconsciously communicates solitude. In addition, the inability to clearly see ahead, where view is blocked by the visitors ahead, gives a sense of apprehension of the unknown destination."

H A L L

2005? - Hall of Names, Yad Vashem, Jerusalem (Israel). When dedicated? Same time as the new history museum? "At the end of the Holocaust History Museum. A memorial to the 6 million Jews who perished in the Holocaust. The main hall is composed of two cones: one ten meters high, with a reciprocal well-like cone excavated into the underground rock, its base filled with water. On the upper cone is a display featuring 600 photographs of Holocaust victims and fragments of Pages of Testimony." /// "Computerization of the Pages of Testimony collection commenced in 1992, and has subsequently evolved into The Central Database of Shoah Victims’ Names, which contains additional names identified from various archival sources. In November 2004, the entire Names Database was uploaded to the Yad Vashem website at www.yadvashem.org where one can freely access information on the over 3 million Jewish victims identified so far, as well as submit additional names & information online."

S Y N A G O G U E 2005 - Synagogue, Yad Vashem, Jerusalem (Israel). "The new Synagogue is a fitting place for visitors to say Kaddish for departed loved ones, for private prayer, communal worship & memorial services for lost communities. Ritual artifacts rescued from destroyed synagogues in Europe adorn the building." Plaque: "Established through the generosity of Marilyn & Barry Rubenstein and family. USA 2005."

M U S E U M 2005? - New Museum of Holocaust Art, Yad Vashem, Jerusalem (Israel). "The world's largest collection of art created in ghettos, camps, hideouts & other places where artistic endeavor was nearly impossible. These works reflect the very spirit of the victims & survivors. Also contains the world's first computerized archive & information center regarding Shoah art & artists." Contributed by Sheldon Adelson, owner of the Sands Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada (USA), & "purported to be the world's richest Jew."

S C U L P T U R E Date? - Monument to Le Chambon-sur-Lignon, Yad Vashem, Jerusalem (Israel). "Le Chambon-sur-Lignon is a Protestant village in Haute-Loire in southern France. During World War II, it became a haven for Jews fleeing from the Nazis and their French collaborators. The Chambonais hid Jews in their homes, sometimes for as long as four years, provided them with forged I.D. and ration cards, and helped them over the border to safety in Switzerland. With their history of persecution as a religious minority in Catholic France, empathy for Jews as the people of the Old Testament, and the powerful leadership and example of their pastor and his wife, Andre and Magda Trocme, the people of Chambon acted on their conviction that it was their duty to help their "neighbors" in need. The Chambonais rejected any labeling of their behavior as heroic. They said: "Things had to be done and we happened to be there to do them. It was the most natural thing in the world to help these people." After the round- up and deportation of Jews in Paris in July 1942, Pastor Trocme had delivered a sermon to his parishioners, "The Christian Church should drop to its knees and beg pardon of God for its present incapacity and cowardice." American Friends (Quakers) & other Protestant organizations provided assistance to Chambon to set up homes for children whose parents had been deported. The head of one of these homes was Daniel Trocme, the young cousin of Pastor Trocme. In June 1943 he and "his" children were arrested and deported to the East. Daniel Trocme died in Majdanek. The Trocmes have been recognized by Yad Vashem as Righteous among the Nations; a tree was planted in honor of Andre and Magda Trocme and another in honor of Daniel Trocme. As seen in the picture, a small garden and plaque on the grounds of Yad Vashem were dedicated to the people of Chambon."

Future - International Court of Crimes Against Humanity, Yad Vashem, Jerusalem (Israel). "The Third Temple, a moral temple for the world." "Away from the Quarrel Mount in the Old City, to the Peace Mount in the western city." "It will have an Armenian wing; and Serbian wing, exhibits from Rwanda and Namibia; a presentation honoring the Native Americans that were exterminated by blond, blue-eyed generals." [As proposed in Burg, Avraham (2007, 2008), "The Holocaust is Over: We Must Rise from its Ashes,".]

Part III: Vicinity of Yad Vashem

V I L L A G E

Since 1948 - Ein Kerem or Ain Karem, Jerusalem (Israel). Visit Basilica & Crypt of the Visitation (built by Antonio Barluzzi [1884-1960] in 1955). "The 1947 UN Partition Plan placed [Arab] Ein Kerem in the Jerusalem enclave intended for international control. In Feb. 1948 the village's 300 guerilla fighters were reinforced by a well-armed Arab Liberation Army force of mainly Syrian fighters, and on Mar. 10 a substantial Iraqi detachment arrived in the village, followed within days by some 160 Egyptian fighters. On March 19, the villagers joined their foreign guests in attacking a Jewish convoy on the Tel Aviv-Jerusalem road. Immediately after the April 1948 massacre at the nearby village of Deir Yassin (2 km to the north), most of the women and children in the village were evacuated. It was attacked by Israeli forces during the 10-day truce of July 1948. The remaining civilian inhabitants fled on July 10-11... One one of the few depopulated Arab localities which survived the war with most of the buildings intact. The abandoned homes were resettled with new immigrants. Over the years, the bucolic atmosphere attracted a population of artisans & craftsmen." N.B.: I was taken here by my Palestinian taxi driver after he told me he came from a nearby village (this one?) depopulated of Arabs in 1948.

V I L L A G E

April 9, 1948 - Palestinian Village of Deir Yassin, near Jerusalem (Israel). Unintentional monument. Scene of the Deir Yassin Massacre (part of the Palestinian Nakba or Holocaust). Top photo taken in December 1996. Middle photo shows the village today as occupied by the Krar Shaul Mental Health Center (closed to the public) between Givat Shaul & Har Nof. Bottom photo is Deir Yassin (in the green trees to the right of the water tower) as seen from Yad Vashem. Click here for video by Deir Yassin Remembered (DYR).

T R E E

September 24, 2003 - "Deir Yassin Remembered," DYR Headquarters, Seneca Lake (western shore), Geneva, New York, New York (USA). Bronze sculpture of an uprooted olive tree by [political cartoonist] Khalil Bendib. Inscription: "Earth torn roots yearning, Palestine landscape mourning displaced descendants. [haiku by] Randa Hamwi Duwaji. Perpetrated by terrorists of the Irgun and Stern Gang, the massacre of Palestinian men, women, and children at Deir Yassin on April 9, 1948 is arguably the most pivotal event in 20th century Palestinian history. // The massacre symbolizes the Zionist quest to build a Jewish state on land inhabited for centuries by Muslims, Christians & Jews. It marks the begining of the destruction of over 400 Palestinian villages & the exile of more than 700,000 Palestinians. // Over half the population in the land controlled by Israel is not Jewish. Most of these non-Jews are Palestinians. Yet there are few memorials to mark their history & none to mark the massacre at Deir Yassin, which lies 3 km west of the Old City of Jerusalem and only 1,400 m to the north of Yad Vashem, the most famous of all the Holocaust memorials. The irony is breathtaking. // Khalil Bendib, Sculptor, 2003. www.deiryassin.org" Third of three "Deir Yassin Remembered" memorials (DYR).

G R A V E

1949 - Grave of Theodor Herzl, Mount Herzl (Har Herzl or Mount of Memory), Jerusalem (Israel). When Herzl died in 1904, he was interred in Vienna. It was only in 1949, 45 years later, that Herzl's remains were brought to Israel and reinterred in Jerusalem. Mount Herzl is Israel's national cemetery on the west side of Jerusalem. Herzl's tomb lies at the top of the hill. Israel's war dead are also buried there. Yad Vashem lies just to the west of Mount Herzl.

C O N F

August 29-31, 1897 - First Zionist Congress, Basel (Switzerland). Convened & chaired by Theodor Herzl [1860-1904], founder of the modern Zionism movement. Formulated a Zionist platform, known as the Basle program, and founded the Zionist Organization. Also adopted the Hatikvah as its anthem (already the anthem of Hovevei Zion & later to become the national anthem of the State of Israel).

F O R E S T

1950's - Jerusalem Forest, Jerusalem (Israel). "Surrounded by the Jerusalem neighborhoods Beit HaKerem, Yefe Nof, Ein Kerem, Har Nof, Givat Shaul, and a moshav, Beit Zeit. The forest was planted during the 1950's by the Jewish National Fund (JNF or KKL), financed by private donors. At its largest, the forest extended over about 4 square kilometres. Over the years, it has shrunk due to urban expansion, & today it covers about 1.2 square kilometres. Yad Vashem is located in the forest near Mount Herzl." Image shows the forest from the exit of Yad Vashem's new Holocaust History Museum. "At the conclusion of the heart-rending walk through the museum, visitors walk up & outside, almost as if exiting from a tomb, to a balcony with a moving view of the hills, trees & dwellings of modern Israel" -- & Deir Yassin.

W I N D O W S

February 1962 - Twelve Tribes of Israel, Hadassah Medical Center, Ein Kerem campus, Jerusalem (Israel). A famous set of 12 stained glass windows created & donated in 1960 by Marc Chagall [1887-1985]. During the dedication ceremony, Chagall called the windows "the modest present which I give to the Jewish people who have always dreamed of love, friendship and peace among peoples."

T O M B

After November 4, 1995 - Tomb of Yitzhak & Lea Rabin, Mount Herzl (Mount of Memory), Jerusalem (Israel). Designed by Moshe Safdie who also designed the 1976 Children's Memorial & 2005 Holocaust History Museum at Yad Vashem. Yitzhak Rabin [1922-1995] received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1994.

M E M O R I A L

1998 - Victims of Acts of Terror Memorial, Mount Herzl Cemetery, Jerusalem (Israel). "A central Monument in to all Victims of Terror in Israel from 1851 until today... design by the architects 'moshe and rita oren' and built by the 'National Insurance Institute of Israel (NII)' and the Ministry of Defense in cooperation with the Israely Terror Victims Association. the monument symbolizes the steadfastness of the Jewish people in his country against those who try to harm the continued existence. memorial walls are inscribed the names of all victims of the brutal campaign which was imposed on the citizens of Israel, and for their sacrifice will be remembered and not forgotten including names of victims that they are not jews. /// the Arab Terrorism against the old Jewish community in Israel from the late 19th century and continued in sequence and waves before before the establishment of Israel Country (1920 to 1921, 1929, 1936-1939) and before the declaration of the state directed terrorism is undermining the Jewish spirit and disrupting the intention to establish a national home for Jews in Israel. This long struggle lost their lives Citizens and Soldiers. represent equally the high cost that the State of Israel to pay to preserve its independence" [sic]

G R O V E

2003 - Forest Grove of the Nations, Mount Herzl, Jerusalem (Israel). Just below Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial. Image shows the president of Cyprus, Mr. Demetris Christofias, planting an olive tree after his visit to Yad Vashem on March 15, 2011. "Efi Stenzler, World Chairman of the Jewish National Fund (KKL-JNF), invited the president of Cyprus to join the other heads of state who had already planted an olive tree in the Grove of the Nations, as a symbol of peace, partnership & brotherhood between the nations of the world. 'In the Jewish tradition, the most sublime expression of friendship is planting a tree. When our father Abraham wanted to make a covenant with Avimelech, the king of Gerar, he planted a tree in Beersheba,' Stenzler said... The Grove of the Nations is part of a unique project to preserve and develop the Jerusalem Forest. The grove was founded in 2003 as a joint project of KKL-JNF and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as part of the 'Olive Tree Route' to promote intercultural dialogue, agriculture & peace among the nations of the region. To date, 48 presidents and heads of state from all over the world have planted trees in the forest grove, including the Chancellor of Germany, Angela Merkel, the late president of Poland, Lech Kaczynski, the prime minister of Italy, Silvio Berluskoni, and also the secretary-general of the United Nations, Ban Ki-Moon, who in March 2007, planted the first olive tree in the grove that was part of the worldwide 'Green Belt' project to plant one billion trees that was announced by the United Nations as part of the fight against global warming."

F I R E

July 2011 - "More fires in Jerusalem," posted on 29/07/2011 by jonnyh: "Few weeks ago there was a fire close to Yad Vashem holocaust museum which almost prompted staff to move precious artifacts into different rooms. This fire appears to have started deliberately and in four different places. Last Saturday I was cycling over to a friend’s house and across the valley, I could see fire and smoke. Here the fire appears to be in the forest at the foot of the Haas Promenade near my house, close to the Arab side of East Jerusalem. 4 minutes later when I was riding past the abandoned station, fire crews were arriving. Now, I didn’t see this in the news, but it concerning that arson seems to happen quite often of late, most significantly last year when several Israeli prison staff were killed trying to get people out of prison (including Arab terrorists) when flames suddenly engulfed the truck they were in. At the moment, temperatures here are exceeding 35c (that’s about 97F) which mean bush fires could easily be started accidentally as well, but at the moment, this country needs prayer against threats of fire, whether it be deliberate or accidental."

V I L L A G E

Future - Village of Lifta, West Jerusalem (Israel). "Last visible remnant of the Nakba" [sic]. "Lifta is an anomaly. Among the hundreds of Palestinian villages abandoned in 1948, Lifta is the only one that was neither destroyed nor reinhabited. The villages of [nearby] Ein Karem & Ein Hod [near Haifa], for example, remained standing but were inhabited by Jews. [Former Lifta resident] Yakub Odeh, 67, & others see the remaining 55 homes in Lifta & surrounding terraces as a kind of memorial to Palestinian society before Israel’s War of Independence. After the village was abandoned, the ceilings in the buildings were deliberately destroyed to deter intruders, however the homeless & others on the margins of society took up residence there. Plans call for 212 luxury housing units & a small hotel. Israelis & Palestinians dedicated to Lifta’s preservation have called the plan the end for the last Arab village of its kind."