Yad Vashem

The visit to Yad Vashem, the Holocaust Memorial, deserves its own post.

Just reflecting about it brings overwhelming feelings. What a beautifully done museum to commemorate the most horrible atrocity in recent history.

I'm going to quickly bullet point some of the things that stuck out to me while exploring the memorial:

- The green canisters of zyklon b with the bright orange labels is an image that will haunt me.

- Throughout the museum there are videos of different survivors telling their story. In the very first room this stoic, beautiful, woman recalls the Nazis taking her mother away from their home. As she tells the story she chokes up and needs a few moments before continuing. I still get chills thinking about it.

- There was this video that split a screen in half and showed what the propaganda machine of the Third Reich would communicate with the masses regarding concentration camps, and on the other half show the reality. The stark differences were horrifying.

- A typewriter with keys programmed with the SS symbol and the swatiska.

- Videos and pictures throughout the museum. So many people. So many horrifying stories. Children. Men. Women. Brothers. Sisters. Parents. Grandparents. One picture taken at a party with 56 people before the Holocaust. Only 10 survived.

- An original document with Himmler's signature. Sickening.

- Art from the ghettos. Drawings, poems, stories. The importance of art was not lost even in the harshest circumstances. It was crucial for survival.

- A ship, MS St. Louis, tried to find home for German Jews in 1939. Its first stop was Havana, Cuba. They were turned away. They were also turned away from the United States. Eventually returning to Europe where many of the passengers died in the Holocaust. As a Cuban-American this made me physically sick. In times of crisis, how could we -- countries built upon immigrants -- turn away people at a time of need?

- Garden of the Righteous. Trees are planted in honor of those who risked their lives to save Jewish individuals. Oskar Schindler's tree was spotted. Along with many other heros.

- Childrens' Memorial. Over 1.5 children were killed in the Holocaust. That's an incredibly difficult number to wrap your mind around. The memorial for the children is brilliantly designed. You enter a dark cave, and hold a rail on the right while names and ages were read to you. The numbing of all senses (except hearing, obviously) forces one to truly focus. Incredibly moving. The tour guide, Yael, challenged us to remember one name. I remember Moeshe, age 12.

- The last room Yad Vashem is the Hall of Names. As you enter this cone-shaped room, you see book shelves from floor to ceiling that contain the names of all those who perished. Half the room is empty. Symbolic that for as much as we know, there is still more that we do not know. To this day, they are still collecting testimonies from people across the world.

I can go on and on... And quite frankly, feel the need to prepare all of you dear friends that I am going to need to process this with you so be prepared...

In the morning as we were driving up to Yad Vashem, it was a miserable, dreary and snowy day. You should know that it only snows in Israel once every four years. As I look back, it was quite fitting/symbolic. The weather reflected how I felt upon leaving the memorial.

WOW. Heavy post.

Please note that for some reason, blogger won't let us upload pictures. SO SORRY! It might be our internet access is not strong enough...

Also, I cannot encourage you enough to check out my two favorite peop;e's blogs:

alissaintheholyland.blogspot.com

jessintheholyland.blogspot.com

They are both significantly smarter than I am and will be able to provide a different perspective on this incredible journey I am privileged to be a part of...

Until tomorrow...