The Intimacy of Yad Vachem and Why You Should Visit

Yad Vachem, the World Holocaust Remembrance Center in Jerusalem is a place of beauty, hope and acknowledgement. It is also a place of unspeakable pain.

Designed by architect Moshe Safdie, the building is a prism-like structure penetrating Mount Herzi from one side to the other with both ends cantilevering into the open air. I experienced walking through the dark, interior galleries, a warren of small rooms, each purposed to tell a part of the historical timeline.

Emerging, finally, into the light at the end of the journey, riveted in relief.

Realizing I had held my breath, immersed in lives laid bare by the intimate, articulated displays.

The Upper Cone

The Upper Cone area displays 600 of a collection of more than 400,000 historical photographs, 500 albums and over 11,000 collections, the largest in the world dealing with the Holocaust. One image haunts me with its singular beauty. A young man…a son, brother, lover, the details of his life recorded on the wall. His country of birth and service. His father’s name.

What was he thinking when the picture was taken? And what would he think now, decades later as I stood, three sons of my own, and stared at his young, solemn face. So handsome, clean shaven in coat and tie. His collar slightly puckered, a stray curl on his forehead? Some mother’s son.

Righteous Among Nations

Righteous Among Nations is a focus of the museum. This is an honorific term used by the state of Israel and both countries and individuals are are honored with displays, statuary and multimedia presentations throughout Yad Vachem. These are the non-Jews who took great risks to save Jewish lives during the Holocaust. Rescue took many forms and came from many places. Acts such as hiding Jews in a rescuer’s home, providing papers or new identities, smuggling, offering medical assistance…all with a priority placed on saving the children, no matter the risk. Punishment for the offenders, if caught, was imprisonment, torture and death.

Pages of Testimony

The main circular hall houses the Pages of Testimony which are short biographies of each Holocaust victim. Over two million pages are stored in the circular repository around the outer edges of the hall with room for the 6 million documented. And that is the ongoing effort, to list the name of every life lost. The Center also offers blank pages of Testimony and survivor registration forms to continue this seemingly endless task.

My travels have given me the privilege of visiting many historically significant memorials. Memorials to generations lost as a result of our own inhumanity and sacrifices made by our proud military in defense of our precious freedoms…from Vietnam to Belgium to the Normandy beaches. Yad Vachem, in its intimate and horrific tribute to relentless hope, is another.

Visiting Israel?

Heading to Jerusalem? Click here for details on tickets, address and museum hours at Yad Vashem.