Holocaust Memorial

Yesterday we got to go to Yad Vashem, a memorial honoring Holocaust victims. It was a very sobering experience as you'd expect but there was something unique about this particular experience. This past summer I went to the Holocaust Museum in Washington DC and it was amazing. The museum at Yad Vashem is similar in size, quality, and comprehensiveness but my perspective was much different having lived in the Holy Land for a couple months now. I just wanted to share a few pictures and thoughts about my experience. 

The grounds at Yad Vashem are beautiful and extensive. We were able to walk around and see a few memorials before entering the museum.

Ophir, our Judaism professor, came with us and explained much of what we saw during the day. 

We stopped first at these two mural sculptures. Ophir explained how these depict starkly contrasting Jewish reactions to the Holocaust. The one on the right shows a submissive and defeated Jewish people being driven from their homes by soldiers. The one on the left depicts the Jewish "heroes" of the Holocaust era - those who resisted oppression and persecution. The submissive approach reflected the attitude of Jews who have accepted that they have always been and will always be a persecuted people. The resistant approach represented a more modern mentality that for a time was deemed the most heroic. Ophir explained that decades after the Holocaust ended, the idea of Jewish heroism shifted. The real heroes were those who performed quiet acts of bravery and selflessness. 

We then went to the Children's Memorial which honors the 1.5 million children murdered during the Holocaust. It was amazing. It was a large circular room, completely dark except for the candles lit in the middle which were reflected by the mirrors that lined the outer walls of the room. Somehow the lit candles were also behind mirrored walls in the middle section which created the incredible effect of feeling like you were walking amongst millions of stars. It was an awe-inspiring and celestial tribute to each individual child that was killed. I just remember being overwhelmed with the beauty and solemnity of the room as I walked through.

After that we went to the Holocaust History Museum. 

Walking towards the entrance.

Pictures weren't allowed inside but the design was amazing. It led you chronologically through the holocaust with pictures, artifacts, and videos. There were video recorded accounts of Holocaust victims played throughout the museum which were the most impactful. I remember reading a quote there that said something like,"There weren't six million people murdered - there were six million murders. And in each case one Jew was murdered." It made me realize that any figure or number used to describe the magnitude of the slaughtering that happened during the Holocaust dehumanized to some extent the individuals that suffered their own tragic fate. It's when I connected to an individual that I could begin to feel a tiny part of the pain and fear they felt. 

I remember seeing pictures of Jewish rabbis being ridiculed publically and beaten to death. They were dressed in the same clothing I've seen so many Jewish men wear these past few weeks here in Jerusalem. It hit much closer to home because of my exposure to the Jewish culture and customs. They are real people. 

I can't begin to comprehend the evil that caused so much suffering, nor the suffering that was a result of so much evil. Near the end I read about the orphaned Jewish children and the mental, spiritual, and physical recovery they had to begin when WWII ended. They had to try to gain trust in humanity again - where do you even start? 

Here's a picture of the last room in the museum where victims' pictures and belongings were displayed. 

It's always hard to come out of that kind of experience - you don't want to dwell on it too much but you definitely want to give it the respect and reverence it deserves. We were able to walk back through the beautiful grounds again before eating lunch which helped get us to a less heavy mental state. It was raining when we came out of the museum so we pulled out our rain jackets. 

This rain jacket rainbow helped brighten things up after a sobering morning! (Kylie, Lauren, Amber, Shannon, Lincoln, Jessica, and Ava)