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The Holocaust Memorial Gallery

<strong>The Garden of Meditation</strong> <br>A serene and peaceful garden dedicated to the memory of the beautiful European culture and its six million Jewish souls, now lost.

The Garden of Meditation
A serene and peaceful garden dedicated to the memory of the beautiful European culture and its six million Jewish souls, now lost.

<strong>The Garden of Meditation</strong> <br>A serene and peaceful garden dedicated to the memory of the beautiful European culture and its six million Jewish souls, now lost.

<strong>The Garden of Meditation</strong> The Garden is composed of a large plaza of Jerusalem stone, a 200-foot-diameter water lily pond, and a classic semicircular colonnade and arbor, all set against a backdrop of a dense green palm forest.

<strong>Water Lilies</strong> The white floating flowers that adorn the reflection pond are reminiscent of the souls that were lost in the Holocaust, Memorial designer Ken Treister said.

<strong>The First Sculpture</strong> The first sculpture is of a mother and two nestling children, fearful as the signs of the Holocaust first appear.

<strong>The First Sculpture</strong> Their faces ask, “Can it happen?” “Will God forsake us?”

<strong>Anne Frank’s Message</strong><br> The beginning sculpture is framed by a quote from Anne Frank: “… in spite of everything, I still believe that people are really good at heart.”

<strong>The Arbor of History</strong> A semicircular colonnade of Jerusalem stone columns supports a wooden arbor with white bougainvillea vines.

<strong>Granite Panels</strong> Following the arbor is a series of black granite slabs etched with photographs of the tortured Holocaust history. Professor Helen Fagin, the Memorial’s historian, wrote the poignant introduction and captions.

<strong>The Dome of Contemplation</strong> The procession continues into an area enclosed by a dome and semicircular wall with an eternal memorial flame and inscription from the 23rd Psalm.

Jude Star: Piercing the dark interior of the dome is a shaft of yellow light projected from a central yellow Star of David with the black letters Jude, reminiscent of the patches Jews were made to wear during Hitler's reign.

<strong>The Lonely Path</strong> The next space is a dark and lonely stone tunnel illuminated by thin slats of sunlight, while the haunting voices of Israeli children sing songs from the Holocaust.

<strong>Stone Plaques of Death Camp Names</strong> First placed on the ground, stone plaques with the names of each of the death camps were moved up to the walls after some felt they were walking on the graves of those who perished in the camps.

<strong>A Series of Vignettes</strong> At the end of the Lonely Path, bronze figures express the mixed emotions of terror and compassion. This particular sculpture is of a small child reaching out for help, showing that even the youngest victims faced un

<strong>The Sculpture of Love and Anguish</strong> The towering arm rises from the center to anchor the entire work. The arm bears more than 100 intertwined figures, each portraying its own testimony. It is encircled by other freestanding victims.

<strong>A Series of Vignettes</strong> The series of sculptures represent different families helping each other. Fathers, mothers and children comfort each other with love but feel anguish towards their circumstances.

<strong>The Memorial Wall</strong> The Memorial Wall is a reminder of the human souls whose lives were extinguished in the Holocaust. In addition to the many thousands of names already etched into the wall, more names are being accommodated as they are su

<strong>The Memorial Wall</strong> Not unlike the Vietnam Memorial, this Holocaust Memorial Wall serves many of the survivors and their families as the only real link with their loved ones, a place where families can see the names of a loved one carved in

<strong>The Final Sculpture</strong> The final sculpture depicts the same mother and two children who started the journey, now dead, framed by the words of Anne Frank: “Ideals, dreams and cherished hopes rise within us only to meet the horrible truths and