Memorial recalls names of Holocaust victims
Designed by Daniel Libeskind, the memorial comprises four stainless steel and highly reflective Hebrew characters that spell the word that translates as ‘in memory of’.
The long-awaited Dutch Holocaust Memorial of Names has been opened in Amsterdam by His Majesty Willem-Alexander, King of the Netherlands.
Together with Jacques Grishaver, chairman of the Dutch Auschwitz Committee, the monarch opened the memorial containing the names of all Dutch Holocaust victims without a grave. This includes roughly 102,000 Jews, along with Sinti and Roma.
Designed by Daniel Libeskind, the memorial comprises four stainless steel and highly reflective Hebrew characters that spell the word that translates as ‘in memory of’.
As visitors enter the memorial, they encounter a labyrinth of passages on both sides, with two-metre-high brick walls carrying the message of remembrance and 102,000 bricks each inscribed with a name, date of birth and age at death.
It remembers victims who were deported from the Netherlands as well as Dutch Jews deported from other countries before being killed in Nazi camps, or dying from hunger or exhaustion during transport and death marches.
This is the first memorial in the Netherlands that lists each Holocaust victim by name, and is the latest such monument from Libeskind, who designed both the Jewish Museum in Berlin and the remembrance site at New York’s Twin Towers.
“For the bereaved, it is of inestimable value to have a place where they can remember their loved ones,” said Grishaver. “It means the names of Holocaust victims will not be forgotten. Moreover, the memorial forms a trait d’union [hyphen] between past, present and future.”
“Remembrance is not only for those who lived through the war, but also for those who did not experience it – the children and grandchildren and following generations.
“In addition, the memorial raises historical awareness of where wars can lead.”
The memorial is located in Weesperstraat, close to Jonas Daniël Meijerplein, in the eastern centre of Amsterdam, an area with a rich Jewish history. Within walking distance are a number of other memorials and buildings that each showcase aspects of Jewish life in Amsterdam prior to the Shoah.
Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.
For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.
Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.
You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.
100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...
Engaging
Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.
Celebrating
There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.
Pioneering
In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.
Campaigning
Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.
Easy access
In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.
Voice of our community to wider society
The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.
We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.
