Yad Vashem

While in Jerusalem we had the opportunity to visit Yad Vashem, the Holocaust Memorial Museum. It was an overwhelming experience to say the least.

"And to them will I give in my house and within my walls a memorial and a name (a "yad vashem")... that shall not be cut off."

(Isaiah, chapter 56, verse 5)

As the Jewish people’s living memorial to the Holocaust, Yad Vashem safeguards the memory of the past and imparts its meaning for future generations. Established in 1953, as the world center for documentation, research, education and commemoration of the Holocaust, Yad Vashem is today a dynamic and vital place of intergenerational and international encounter.
(taken from the about page on the website.)

for some reason, i have always had a fascination with the history and stories of the holocaust. i think it started with reading the diary of anne frank and then number the stars and then other less known stories, as i could read about it all day long. so to visit this museum was a highlight (i feel weird calling it that) of my trip. i have been to the one in DC, but to visit this in the land of the Jewish people is so much more a privileged opportunity.

we were given an hour or so to move through the rooms at our own pace. you could spend days there and not even finish reading and hearing all the stories they have collected. so an hour, though a small amount of time, seemed good to skim the surface of each room.

this is looking down the main hall.

you zig zag through the building as it recounts chronologically the events that occurred during the holocaust. the building was all concrete and very cold and uninviting which adds to the experience as the holocaust was such a terrible time.

to think that one people group thought it best to exterminate another is unfathomable to me. and to think that we still do it is even more so unfathomable.

there were many quotes and stories to read and i'm sure many more that could be told.

the thing that touched me the most was the writing of the prisoners and victims that were found and preserved. they were in the most disgusting and horrifying conditions i have read about, but somehow, they still had hope. they still wrote beautiful poems. we were not allowed to take pictures in the museum (the ones i have shared are from google images) so i wrote a few of the quotes down in order to better remember the experience.

one quote that i found profound was from Kurt Tucholsky -

'a country is not just what is does, it is also what it tolerates.'

this has made me think more internally about life and not just what i do, but what do i tolerate that i should stand up against or for? how many things to do we let slide by and think someone else will handle?

another was from a boy named Abramek Koplowicz, he was killed in auschwitz at age 14 -

when i grow and get to 20, i'll travel and see this world of plenty,

in a bird with an engine, i will sit myself down,

take off and fly into space, far out over the ground,

i'll fly, i'll cruise and soar up high above a world so lovely,

into the sky...

for obvious reasons, this poem brought tears to my eyes and still does now. he thought the world was lovely, even though he was in a prison camp. he never reached 20 or saw a world of plenty. he died in those terrible confines. but still. he had hope.

and i guess that is all he could have.

one last quote that brings me to tears every time is from a Rabbi who was being taken to his death -

'do not think you will succeed in destroying the Jewish people. the Jewish people will live forever...when he had finished...he cried out emphatically "Shema Yisrael!" and all the Jews cried out with him "Shema Yisrael!"

i'm not sure why this touches something deep inside me every time i read it. it could be that we recite the Shema at my church. it could be the solidarity that the Jewish people kept during the holocaust. it could be the power with which i imagine him crying out. whatever it may be, the Jewish people are more beautiful and resilient a people than i could ever imagine and i think this quote gives that thought life.

the last two rooms at the museum were profound in a different way than many of the others. one had a display of names. these names and stories are known as 'Righteous Among the Nations'. they were people who risked their lives, families, and communities in order to save others. i was struck with the thought of: if i lived then and had the ability to hide Jews and others, would i have had the courage to do it? i deeply hope that i would have.

the last room, pictured below, is the Hall of Names. the room is two stories tall and lined with shelves in a circular room filled with binders containing all the known names of those that lost their lives during the holocaust. there is a cone in the middle of the room with photos as well. they had a room off of that room where you can access a database and find names that you might be looking for. although this room was a book recording deaths, it made me think of the book of life that is told about in the Bible. here, in this room, a list of all the people that have died a terrible death. but God has with Him a book of life for those that live by His word and who love the Lord their God with all their heart, soul, and might.

the Hall of Names

 

this must be out in the courtyard area. i did not see it in person, but found this picture when i searched google images. it is a tree with branches and leaves made of people.

they had a gallery of holocaust art as well. as i have written before, the art in Israel was fantastic. so many stories and things to be told. even at the holocaust museum, the art was so beautiful.

our guide shared with us a few thoughts about the museum and the holocaust. (his grandfather was a holocaust survivor)

he told us that you will see many school groups and the young military groups often at the museum. they are there to learn about what happens to a people group when they do not have a nation/home.

he also shared the thought that although this seems horrible to us, it is all part of God's ultimate plan and that the Holocaust itself could be the catalyst to bring true the prophecy of Ezekial 37.21

then say to them, Thus says the Lord God: I will take the people of Israel from the nations among which they have gone, and will gather them from every quarter, and bring them to their own land.