January 27, the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau in 1945, is marked in many countries as International Holocaust Remembrance Day. It is an occasion for commemorative ceremonies, educational programs, and other initiatives. Monuments and memorials are also dedicated or form centerpieces for commemorative events.
As in past years, we are marking the occasion with a photo essay of Holocaust memorials in Europe — this year, like last year, again emphasizing memorials that place attention on the names of the victims or otherwise personalize the Holocaust by bringing home the fact that each of the millions who died was an individual: they name names and sometimes provide other information.
(We have written more extensively about some of these memorials and provide links to the articles.)
May their souls be bound up in the bond of life — may their memory be a blessing, and an inspiration not just to remember, but to learn!
– – – – – –
Some of the memorials consist of long lists of names of the victims.
Other memorials provide more individual information.
In 2002, the ruined Auxiliary Synagogue in Plzen, CZ was transformed into a Holocaust memorial where the names of the more than 2,600 local victims are inscribed on stones placed in what had been the sanctuary.
Names and ages of victims are also written on stones in a simple memorial in the Jewish cemetery in Nova Cerekev, CZ.
In the former synagogue in Lostice, CZ, now an education and culture center, memorial exhibits about individual victims have been mounted in the book-cupboards in the pews.
Personalized memorials also include the more than 70,000 “stumbling stone” or “stolpersteine” commemorative cobblestones around Europe placed by the German artist Gunter Demnig as a memorial art project in front of the houses of people who were deported. More and more continue to be added.
The Holocaust Memorial in the village of Černovice, CZ, consists of polished stones bearing the names and other information about the deportees, set to line the lane leading to the Jewish cemetery.
2 comments on “International Holocaust Remembrance Day 2019: Photo essay of Shoah memorials that personalize those who were murdered”
with the result of a current poll showing frightening statistics that even now people will deny it occurred or if it did then not so many were murdered,it is clear that this day is vital and we must ensure that education takes place throughout the world for the next generations to know that all it takes is to ignore hatred.If enough people pretend and ignore the current rise of antisemitic literature and articles then there will be a generation that will believe this fake information and 6000000 will have died in vain
We remember forever and ever!
Am Israel Chaim!