|
October
22, 1995
On this crisp,
glorious autumn day, the New England Holocaust Memorial was dedicated
in an emotional, uplifting public ceremony on the steps of City
Hall Plaza. Community and civic leaders spoke eloquently of the
Memorial's beauty and its significance on the Freedom Trail. Holocaust
survivor and author, Elie Wiesel, so poetically reminded us that
the evil of racism is still very much alive in the world today.
And with sweet voices of a children's choir filling the afternoon
air, Wiesel reminded "We must look for hope. There is a marvelous
saying by a great Hasidic master: "If you look for the spark, you
will find it in the ashes.¹"
Beyond the stage,
thousands of people young and old lined up to view this striking
work of public art for the first time. The years of struggle to
bring the Memorial to life culminated in the emotion-filled faces
of the men, women, and children who passed through its six glistening
towers that day. With its evocative symbolism and powerful messages,
the Memorial at long last began speaking to the community.
The mission
to build this poignant monument had been accomplished. The mission
of maintaining a dynamic, vibrant memorial for generations to come
had just begun.
The following
has been excerpted from the memorial's dedication and introductory
panels.
|
"I will give them an everlasting
name."
- Isaiah 56:5
Between
1933 and 1945, the Nazis created a regime of hate and
victimization in Germany that eventually consumed most of
Europe. Driven by racist beliefs, they killed millions of men,
women, and children in their quest to dominate Europe and to
create a "pure and superior" race. The Nazis singled out the
Jews for total extermination-- their very existence to be
erased from history and memory. Before their defeat in 1945,
the Nazi regime murdered six million Jews -- more than half of
Europe's Jewish population.
This memorial
is dedicated to those six million Jewish men, women, and children.
Here we create a marker -- a place to grieve for the victims
and for the destruction of their culture -- a place to
give them an everlasting name.
We seek
to encourage a universal understanding of all that happened
in that period. Nearly eleven million people, of many races,
religions, and nationalities, were murdered by the Nazis.
Among the victims were Gypsies, Jehovah's witnesses, political
dissidents, homosexuals, and the mentally and physically disabled.
Survivors
of the death camps, those who courageously aided them, and
those soldiers who liberated them with compassion were caught
up in this great tragedy, and they carry the burden of those
memories throughout their lives. We acknowledge each unique
experience, as well as the horror of the collective history.
To remember
their suffering is to recognize the danger and evil that are
possible whenever one group persecutes another. As you walk
this Freedom Trail, pause here to reflect on the consequences
of a world in which there is no freedom - a world in which
basic human rights are not protected. And know that wherever
prejudice, discrimination and victimization are tolerated,
evil like the Holocaust can happen again.
|
|
