Yad Vashem

An exterior view of the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial museum in Jerusalem.

Yad Vashem ("Holocaust Martyrs' and Heroes' Remembrance Authority"), is Israel's official memorial to the victims of the Holocaust established in 1953 through the Memorial Law passed by the Knesset, Israel's parliament.

The origin of the name is from a Biblical verse: "And to them will I give in my house and within my walls a memorial and a name … that shall not be cut off." (Isaiah, chapter 56, verse 5) In Hebrew, "a memorial and a name" translates as yad va-shem.

to them I will give within my temple and its walls a memorial and a name better than sons and daughters; I will give them an everlasting name that will not be cut off.

Located in Jerusalem, it consists of a memorial chamber, a historical museum, an art gallery, a Hall of Names, an archive, the "Valley of the Destroyed Communities", a synagogue, and an educational centre. As well, non-Jews who saved Jews during the Holocaust, often at great personal risk, are honoured by Yad Vashem as the "Righteous Among the Nations".

Background and purpose

Originally proposed by the 1945 London Zionist Congress, Israel's national Authority for the Remembrance of the Martyrs and Heroes of the Holocaust, Yad Vashem, was established in 1953 by an act of the Knesset. Its purpose is to commemorate the six million Jews — men, women and children — who perished in the Holocaust. Also commemorated are the heroism and fortitude of those who fought in the Ghetto revolts. The non-Jews who risked their lives for their Jewish brethren are remembered as the "Righteous Among the Nations".

A living memorial, Yad Vashem serves to perpetuate the legacy of the Holocaust to future generations. A plaque at the memorial is inscribed,

"If we wish to live and to bequeath life to our offspring, if we believe that we are to pave the way to our future, then we must first of all not forget."

The Hill of Remembrance (Hebrew: Har Hazikaron), a hill on the outskirts of Jerusalem, is the location of memorial site, which houses an historical museum of the Holocaust, facilities for conferences and memorial gatherings, and a research institute. There are a number of commemorative monuments, a central archive and a research center for the documentation of the Holocaust.

Each year on the anniversary (according to the Hebrew Calendar on the 27th day of Nisan) of the beginning of the 1943 Warsaw Ghetto Revolt, state ceremonies are held. This day is officially recognized as Remembrance Day for the Martyrs and Heroes of the Holocaust.

Yad Vashem is also a feature of foreign dignitaries' official visits to Israel.

Activities

Its principal missions are commemoration and documentation of the events of the Holocaust; collection, examination, and publication of testimonies to the Holocaust; the collection and memorialization of the names of Holocaust victims; and research and education. As such, Yad Vashem coordinates the following activities:

• Documentation:
  • recording testimonies of survivors
  • collecting the names of those who perished during the Holocaust Yad Vashem The Holocaust Martyrs' and Heroes' Remembrance Authority.
  • collecting photos, documents and resources regarding the Holocaust

• Research and studies:
  • conducting research regarding the Holocaust
  • encouraging students to research the Holocaust
  • publishing research and making it available to the general public

• Education:
  • operating the International School for Holocaust Studies
  • developing study programs for both Israeli and foreign schools in order to teach young students about the Holocaust
  • holding exhibitions about the Holocaust
  • teaching about the Holocaust to the general public

• Memorial:
  • preserving the memory and names of those who died during the Holocaust
  • holding ceremonies of remembrance

The memorials

In 1993, the Yad Vashem institute decided to build a larger museum to replace the one built during the 1960s. This was in response to the construction of larger Holocaust museums in Washington D.C. and Europe. The new museum is the largest Holocaust museum in the world. It is carved into the mountain and designed to reflect the story of the European Jewish community during the Holocaust and their resurrection from the ashes in Israel. It consists of a long corridor with 10 exhibition halls, each dedicated to a different chapter of the Holocaust. The museum combines the personal stories of 90 Holocaust victims and survivors and presents in its exhibitions about 2500 personal items: artworks and letters from the Holocaust donated by survivors. The new museum also includes an auditorium, study hall, computerized data bank and memorial monuments of the more than six million Jews murdered during the Holocaust. Since the 1950s, Yad Vashem has collected approximately 44,000 taped testimonies by Holocaust survivors; as the survivors age and are beginning to become less mobile, the program has expanded to visiting survivors in their homes to tape interviews.

On March 15, 2005, the dedication of the new Yad Vashem Holocaust museum in Jerusalem, Israel took place. The impressive building was designed by the worldwide renowned Jewish architect, Moshe Safdie. Leaders from 40 states and the Secretary General of the UN Kofi Annan attended the inauguration of Holocaust museum. President of Israel Moshe Katzav said that the new museum serves as "an important signpost to all of humankind, a signpost that warns how short the distance is between hatred and murder, between racism and genocide." [1] The building's triangular architectural-shape is said to represent the bottom half of a Star of David, because the world's Jewish population was cut in half as a result of the Holocaust.

The new Holocaust History Museum was built as a prism-like triangular structure. It is 180 meters long, with stark walls made from reinforced concrete. The museum covers an area of more than 4,000 square meters and is mostly situated below ground level.

There are 10 exhibition halls, each devoted to a different chapter in the history of the Holocaust. Unlike the exhibition in the old museum, which was primarily composed of photographs, the new exhibition comprises many elements, including 280 works of art and 2,500 presentations and personal artifacts donated to Yad Vashem by Holocaust survivors, museums and memorial sites around the world.

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The principle memorial at Yad Vashem is the Hall of Remembrance (Ohel Yizkor). The severe concrete-walled structure with a low tent-like roof stands empty, save for an eternal flame. Engraved in the black basalt floor are the names of 21 Nazi extermination camps, concentration camps and killing sites in central and eastern Europe. A crypt in front of the memorial flame contains ashes of victims.

The approach to the Hall of Remembrance is lined with trees planted in honor of non-Jewish men and women - "Righteous Among the Nations" - who, at the risk of their own lives, attempted to rescue Jews from the Holocaust. Several of the trees honor members of the Christian clergy, among them a Franciscan priest in Assisi, the bishop of the Greek island of Zakinthos, a Polish nun in Lithuania and a French Protestant pastor. More than 20,000 persons have been honored with the title "Righteous Among the Nations".

Approximately 1.5 million Jewish children perished in the Holocaust. They are specially remembered in the nearby Children’s Memorial, an underground cavern in which the flickering flames of memorial candles are reflected in an infinity of tiny lights within the prevailing darkness.

The Valley of the Communities is a 2.5 acre monument that was dug out from the natural bedrock. Engraved on the massive stone walls of the memorial are the names of over five thousand Jewish communities that were destroyed and of the few that suffered but survived in the shadow of the Holocaust.

The Memorial to the Deportees is an original cattle-car which was used to transport thousands of Jews to the death camps. Perched on the edge of an abyss facing the Jerusalem forest, the monument symbolizes both the impending horror, and the rebirth which followed the Holocaust.

More than 30 heads of state and ministers from around the world attended the historic inauguration of Yad Vashem’s new Holocaust History Museum on March 15, 2005. A decade in the making, the new museum is the pinnacle of Yad Vashem’s multiyear development plan and presents the story of the Shoah in an informational and experiential format. Four times the size of the current Historical Museum which it replaces, the new museum occupies more than 4,200 square meters, mainly underground. Both multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary, it presents the story of the Shoah from a unique Jewish perspective, emphasizing the experiences of the individual victims through original artifacts, survivor testimonies and personal possessions. It will open to the public at the end of March.

Its 180 meters-long linear structure in the form of a spike cuts through the mountain with its uppermost edge - a skylight - protruding through the mountain ridge. Galleries portraying the complexity of the Jewish situation during those terrible years branch off this spike-like shaft, and the exit emerges dramatically out of the mountainside, affording a view of the valley below.

At the end of the museum’s historical narrative is the Hall of Names - a repository for the Pages of Testimony of millions of Holocaust victims, a memorial to those who perished.

The Yad Vashem Archive collection, the largest and most comprehensive on the Holocaust in the world, comprises 55 million pages of documents, nearly 100,000 photographs, film footage and the videotaped testimonies of survivors. The library contains more than 80,000 titles, thousands of periodicals, and a large number of rare documents.

Righteous Among the Nations

Righteous among the Nations (Hebrew: חסידי אומות העולם, Hasidei Umot HaOlam), which may at times refer to the B'nei Noah or Noahides as well, is a term used in Judaism to refer to non-Jews who abide by the Noahide Laws (the Seven Laws of Noah) and thus are assured of meriting paradise. In contemporary usage, the term is used by the State of Israel to describe non-Jews who risked their lives during the Holocaust in order to save Jews from extermination by the Nazis.

Since 1963, a commission headed by a justice of the Supreme Court of Israel has been charged with the duty of awarding the honorary title "Righteous Among the Nations." The commission is guided in its work by certain criteria and meticulously studies all documentation, including evidence by survivors and other eyewitnesses. A person who is recognized as Righteous Among the Nations for helping Jews during the Holocaust is awarded a medal bearing his name, a certificate of honor, and the privilege of having his name added to those on the Wall of Honor in the Garden of the Righteous at Yad Vashem in Jerusalem, the Israeli Holocaust Memorial. (The last is in lieu of a tree-planting, which was discontinued for lack of space.) The awards are distributed to the rescuers or their next-of-kin during ceremonies in Israel or in their countries of residence through the offices of Israel's diplomatic representatives. These ceremonies are attended by local government representatives and are given wide media coverage.

The Yad Vashem Law authorizes Yad Vashem

"To confer honorary citizenship upon the Righteous Among the Nations, and if they have passed away, the commemorative citizenship of the State of Israel, in recognition of their actions."

Anyone who has been recognized as Righteous Among the Nations is entitled to apply to Yad Vashem for the certificate. If the Righteous Among the Nations is no longer alive, their next of kin is entitled to request that commemorative citizenship be conferred on the Righteous Among the Nations who has died. To date, more than 21,700 people, including family members who shared in the rescue of Jews, have been recognized as Righteous Among the Nations, representing over 8,000 authenticated rescue stories. Yad Vashem's policy is to pursue the program for as long as petitions for this title are received and are supported by solid evidence that meets the criteria.

The museum also honors the Righteous Among the Nations. For example, a small garden and plaque on the grounds of Yad Vashem is dedicated to the people of Le Chambon-sur-Lignon in France who, during World War II, made their town a haven for Jews fleeing from the Nazis.

A few of the more than 20,000 non-Jews so honoured:

• Władysław Bartoszewski
• Johan Benders
• Corrie ten Boom
• Archbishop Damaskinos
• Gottfried von Einem
• Varian Fry
• Miep Gies
• Marie-Rose Gineste
• Hermann Friedrich Graebe
• Aristides Sousa Mendes
• Czesław Miłosz
• Dorothea Neff
• Jonas Paulavicius
• Frits Philips
• Karl Plagge
• Traian Popovici
• Oskar Schindler and Emilie Schindler
• Irena Sendler
• Suzanne Spaak
• Chiune Sugihara
• André Trocmé
• Magda Trocmé
• Raoul Wallenberg
• Johan Hendrik Weidner
• Wilm Hosenfeld
• Alexandre Glasberg
• Feng Shan Ho
• Dimitar Peshev

Images

Memorial to Deportees, Yad Vashem.

Janusz Korczak and the Ghetto's Children, sculpture by Boris Saktsier (1978), Yad Vashem Memorial, Israel.

Entrance marker at the Garden of the Righteous, Yad Vashem.

Yad Vashem memorial sculpture

Inside the haunting children's memorial building at Yad Vashem.

Memorial Monument to the Jewish Partizans in the Shape of a Star of David, Yad Vashem, Jerusalem.

Children's memorial pillars.

References and additional reading

• American Israeli Cooperative Enterprise — Jewish Virtual Library. Yad Vashem, Retrieved August 24, 2007.
• Gushee, David. 2004. Righteous Gentiles of the Holocaust: genocide and moral obligation. New York: Paragon House. ISBN 1557788219 and ISBN 9781557788214
• Klempner, Mark. 2006. The heart has reasons: Holocaust rescuers and their stories of courage. Cleveland, Ohio: Pilgrim Press. ISBN 0829816992 and ISBN 9780829816990
• Land-Weber, Ellen. 2000. To save a life: stories of Holocaust rescue. Urbana: University of Illinois Press. ISBN 0252025156 and ISBN 9780252025150
• Lichtenstein, Aaron. 1981. The seven laws of Noah. New York: Rabbi Jacob Joseph School Press.
• Novak, David. 1983. The image of the non-Jew in Judaism: an historical and constructive study of the Noahide Laws. Toronto studies in theology, v. 14. New York: E. Mellen Press. ISBN 0889467595 and ISBN 9780889467590
• Paldiel, Mordecai. 1993. The path of the righteous: gentile rescuers of Jews during the Holocaust. Hoboken, N.J.: Ktav. ISBN 0881253766 and ISBN 9780881253764
• Satloff, Robert B. 2006. Among the righteous: lost stories from the Holocaust's long reach into Arab lands. New York: PublicAffairs. ISBN 1586483994 and ISBN 9781586483999
• Satloff, Robert B. 2006. Among the righteous: lost stories from the Holocaust's long reach into Arab lands. New York: PublicAffairs. ISBN 0195051947 and ISBN 9780195051940
• Tomaszewski, Irene, and Tecia Werbowski. 1999. Żegota: the Council for Aid to Jews in Occupied Poland, 1942-45. Montreal, Quebec, Canada: Price-Patterson. ISBN 1896881157 and ISBN 9781896881157
• Neusner, Jacob, Alan J. Avery-Peck, and William Scott Green. 2005. The encyclopaedia of Judaism. Leiden: Brill. ISBN 900414787X and ISBN 9789004147874
• Hellman, Peter. 1999. When courage was stronger than fear: remarkable stories of Christians who saved Jews from the Holocaust. New York: Marlowe. ISBN 1569246637 and ISBN 9781569246634

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Yad Vashem

• Interactive guide to Holocaust History Museum. Haaretz. Retrieved May 20, 2007.
• Vashem. Canadian Society for Yad Vashem. Retrieved May 20, 2007.
• Károly Szabó - his role among Wallenberg’s supporters 1944-45. Hightech Marketing-Service. Retrieved May 20, 2007.
• Show Trial Preparations 1953 in Hungary. What's new about Raoul Wallenberg? Retrieved May 20, 2007.
• Yad Vashem. Go into all the Wolrd. Retrieved May 20, 2007.
• Yad Vashem. Go Jerusalem. Retrieved May 20, 2007.

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