Yad Vashem - Monument to the Holocaust: these were terrible times

Tourists mostly know it as the place where the famous Museum of the disaster in Jerusalem is located. In fact, Yad Vashem is a monumental memorial of national importance, on the vast territory of which many different objects are located. The memorial, founded in 1953, is located on Mount Pamyati (Har Ha-Zikaron) and is dedicated to all victims of the Holocaust, which in Hebrew is called "ha-Shoa" - which means "disaster".

The memorial was created to honor the memory of not only those Jews who suffered during the terrible time from 1933 to 1945, but also those who helped fight the fascism, fought for peace and voluntarily harbored Jews with considerable risk for their own Security.
Yad Vashem catastrophe cathedral receives more than 1 million visitors annually.

The memorial complex consists of several objects. The central one is called the Hall of Memory. This is a monumental building in the form of a marquee with basalt walls and a black floor. On it you can see the names of more than 20 camps, which the Germans created in the territories of European countries for the maintenance and destruction of people of "second class". The Eternal Flame burns in the hall, beside which is buried under the memorial plate the ashes of bodies, which was brought here from concentration camps.

The second object of the complex is a monument to heroic soldiers who fought against fascism in the ranks of the Jewish resistance. On the obelisk you can read the dedication to those who raised uprisings in the occupied territories and waged a guerrilla war. The monument to the Jewish soldiers, who died fighting against Nazism as a part of the forces of the anti-Hitler coalition and in the resistance movement, has a similar meaning.

The square of Janusz Korczak, in the center of which stands a monument, is named after a so-called pseudonym of Dr. Goldschmith, a Polish Jew, a remarkable teacher and author of several books. During the Nazi occupation, Korczak led the children's home, and about two hundred children were sent from there to Treblinka and exterminated in 1942. The doctor voluntarily shared their fate.
Partisan panorama is a sculptural composition, in the center of which stands a tree, symbolizing the fighter of partisan movement. The sculpture bears the name taken from the Bible: "... For man is like a tree in the field".

In the western part of the memorial complex is the monumental Valley of the communities, which occupies a vast area. On the territory of the monument there are more than 100 walls, on which are written the names of more than 5000 Jewish communities that were destroyed during the Holocaust. In the center is the House of Commons, where the exhibition space is equipped.

The Garden of the Righteous Among the World and the Alley of the Righteous Among the World with trees planted on it are dedicated to those who were not Jewish, but helped save their lives, risking their own. Also on the territory of the memorial complex are the Warsaw Ghetto Square with the Memorial Wall and a memorial deported in the form of a carload of livestock - the original of hundreds of those in which Jews were sent to the death camps.

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In addition, the International Research Institute of the Catastrophe, the International School for the Study of the Catastrophe, as well as the archive and the library work as part of the memorial part of the complex.
The Central Museum of Yad Vashem is called - the Historical Museum of the Catastrophe. Its premises are located underground. The author of the project, Moshe Safdi, built ten galleries, in which an exposition is placed, telling about the events of the Holocaust through the eyes of the Jews. Among the exhibits are everyday objects, documents and photographs, audio and video recordings.

The art museum of the disaster has the largest collection of unique art objects in the world, which were created in concentration camps, secret shelters and Jewish ghettos.

In the Hall of names of the museum part of Yad Vashem are recorded all the names of the victims of the Holocaust, which were able to establish. This information is collected on the basis of the testimonies of relatives and those who survived. And today the museum appeals to all who can have such information, with a request to share them.

Also, the museum part of the complex includes an exhibition pavilion, where a variety of temporary expositions are held, a video center, where the screenings run both on the big screen and at individual video stations. In addition, a research center has been opened for visitors, providing access to archival and other types of materials for studying the Holocaust.