I've been putting off writing this post as it is too huge to reflect on. But having just returned from attending a Shabbat evening service at the Great Synagogue and sharing a communal Shabbat meal with the Yad Vashem staff members, I thought it was an appropriate time to try to share what was a hugely powerful and unsettling experience. I have seen and read many Holocaust materials so I knew that I would be profoundly disturbed but I have never had the privilege of having an expert guide me like Ephraim, one of our educators. He has 25 years of experience and has an intimate kn
owledge of not only the planning of the new Yad Vashem museum, but many of the people whose stories are represented. He brought it to life by personalising the tour, and telling us some of the endings - some happy but mostly tragic.
We started off with an explanation of the philosophy of the museum - there would not be piles of dead bodies, like in the Washington DC memorial, but instead the focus would be on life and hope - as part of the Jewish narrative. The entrance draws you in with a film of young children singing in a typical Polish village in pre-war years. The design forces you along a certain path by placing obstacles in your way, and you become herded along (perhaps like Jews were as they were forced into cattle cars). The museum is packed with visitors and it can feel quite claustrophobic. The first obstacle is a pile of Jewish books - representing the book burnings ('where books are burned, later people will be burned'). German culture was one of the centres of intellectual enlightenment and these people are burning books? What is going on here?
The museum follows a chronology up to a certain point, and represents victims, perpetrators and bystanders. Four ghettos are represented and the focus is on life, not death and from the Jewish perspective, not the Germans. Museums make decisions about how memories will be shared and this is very evident in the Warsaw ghetto rooms showing four different aspects: soup kitchens to help each other; cultural life to keep spirits up - in the shadow of death there is still life; smuggling food (mainly the children); and lastly, the different ways that people utilised their talents and documented events (they hid archived documents in milk can and buried them, hoping that they would be discovered- and they were).
The design of the building is a triangle, which slopes downhill, representing the fall into the abyss. The space narrows, reflecting the idea of impending doom. Persecution of the Jews had been a constant experience but no-one could have imagined the Final Solution, an unprecedented event in history. The museum continues to showcase some of the main events, and perpetrators but also memorialises the Righteous amongst the Nations - those people who had the courage to help Jews in any way possible. This is part of the message of hope and the way to help you to place the evil into a context - that not the whole world is evil, and that good can flourish in the darkest places. That part is very moving and inspirational. For example, on Oskar Schindler's ring was engraved a line from the Talmud, 'He who saves a single life is as if he saved an entire world.'
Up to this point, although I felt deeply disturbed by the collections, it was the second last room that sucker punches you. The emphasis throughout is on the Jews, and attempts to rescue the individual from the anonymity of the millions murdered, and it honours their lives and shows us who they were through the collected stories. But then you are confronted by the most deeply disturbing video footage and we all experienced a deeply visceral reaction. Tears just flowed, and I felt like vomiting. Questions flooded my mind - how did the Jews live after experiencing all that horror and evil? How did they not want to destroy everything and everyone? There was humiliation in life and no dignity in death. Jews were liberated but could never be free of the horror. And yet the last room is about honouring the individuals in a powerful way, and the exit of the museum opens up and embraces the magnificent view of the shimmering sandy stones of Jerusalem- and therefore hope for the future.
I cannot do it justice - suffice to say that you are left with many more questions than answers.
owledge of not only the planning of the new Yad Vashem museum, but many of the people whose stories are represented. He brought it to life by personalising the tour, and telling us some of the endings - some happy but mostly tragic.
We started off with an explanation of the philosophy of the museum - there would not be piles of dead bodies, like in the Washington DC memorial, but instead the focus would be on life and hope - as part of the Jewish narrative. The entrance draws you in with a film of young children singing in a typical Polish village in pre-war years. The design forces you along a certain path by placing obstacles in your way, and you become herded along (perhaps like Jews were as they were forced into cattle cars). The museum is packed with visitors and it can feel quite claustrophobic. The first obstacle is a pile of Jewish books - representing the book burnings ('where books are burned, later people will be burned'). German culture was one of the centres of intellectual enlightenment and these people are burning books? What is going on here?
The museum follows a chronology up to a certain point, and represents victims, perpetrators and bystanders. Four ghettos are represented and the focus is on life, not death and from the Jewish perspective, not the Germans. Museums make decisions about how memories will be shared and this is very evident in the Warsaw ghetto rooms showing four different aspects: soup kitchens to help each other; cultural life to keep spirits up - in the shadow of death there is still life; smuggling food (mainly the children); and lastly, the different ways that people utilised their talents and documented events (they hid archived documents in milk can and buried them, hoping that they would be discovered- and they were).
The design of the building is a triangle, which slopes downhill, representing the fall into the abyss. The space narrows, reflecting the idea of impending doom. Persecution of the Jews had been a constant experience but no-one could have imagined the Final Solution, an unprecedented event in history. The museum continues to showcase some of the main events, and perpetrators but also memorialises the Righteous amongst the Nations - those people who had the courage to help Jews in any way possible. This is part of the message of hope and the way to help you to place the evil into a context - that not the whole world is evil, and that good can flourish in the darkest places. That part is very moving and inspirational. For example, on Oskar Schindler's ring was engraved a line from the Talmud, 'He who saves a single life is as if he saved an entire world.'
Up to this point, although I felt deeply disturbed by the collections, it was the second last room that sucker punches you. The emphasis throughout is on the Jews, and attempts to rescue the individual from the anonymity of the millions murdered, and it honours their lives and shows us who they were through the collected stories. But then you are confronted by the most deeply disturbing video footage and we all experienced a deeply visceral reaction. Tears just flowed, and I felt like vomiting. Questions flooded my mind - how did the Jews live after experiencing all that horror and evil? How did they not want to destroy everything and everyone? There was humiliation in life and no dignity in death. Jews were liberated but could never be free of the horror. And yet the last room is about honouring the individuals in a powerful way, and the exit of the museum opens up and embraces the magnificent view of the shimmering sandy stones of Jerusalem- and therefore hope for the future.
I cannot do it justice - suffice to say that you are left with many more questions than answers.
It sounds like the museum is achieving its aim Jackie. Facts alone won't be enough to convey the horror of what was done and the story needs to be kept alive so (we hope) nothing like it ever happens again.
ReplyDeleteunfortunately there have been many mass genocides of people before and since the Holocaust
ReplyDeleteSounds like an experience never to be forgotten. Sadly I reflect that we fail to learn from the experience but the hope is there that if we remember and confront often enough some things may change.
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to hearing more. We leave tomorrow .