Visiting Yad Vashem was a day that I anticipated since my arrival into Jerusalem. This Holocaust Museum provided a new insight as to the perspective of the Jews within Israel at the time of the European upheaval during WWII. I personally had no idea what to expect. Our Judaism teacher, Ophir, was our “tour guide” for the tour throughout the museum. When I say tour guide, I mean he was with us but was not permitted to guide us throughout the museum. Rather we were each given a piece of paper with important information and key historical facts to be aware of and we were left to guide ourselves.
There were many rooms separated into different sections based upon sequence and theme such as the rise of the Nazi party or the ghettos evolving into concentration camps. The design of the exhibit was magnificent. Each display was equipped with personal testimonies and original artifacts. The most amazing part of this exhibit was the fact that it was from an Israeli perspective. The concept that caught me the most off guard was the fact that many Israelis at the time of the extermination of the Jews didn’t feel as sympathetic as they did frustrated. Israel previously advised the Jews to come to Palestine and get out of Europe. Therefore when many Jews were being killed it was seen as a consequence for not heeding to their counsel. Israel fought for their independence, so must the other Jews. There are two types of Jews depicted within the holocaust: fighters and those who submitted to the Germans. When this exhibit first opened, the main court was dedicated solely to the resisters and fighters within the ghettos. However, as more information and understanding evolved the court yard changed the dedication into “Holocaust and Heroism.” I assumed Israel would have been very sympathetic and open to the suffereing Jews spread across Europe, which in some cases they were, however, Ophir brought up an interesting point. When many Jews came into the land of Israel to find a safe haven, they were presented with the concept of judgment, judgment not only by their neighbors but also by themselves. Why would I survive and not my family? Many may accuse the Jewish survivors as betrayers to their own race because they escaped death, unlike many of their friends and family members. Even after the war the Jews did not have it easy. This cold time in history affected millions of people all over the world and continues to effect people living today.
I could not have prepared myself for such an experience. Nothing can justify the way humanity treated each other at this time in history. How could a human soul reach to such a low, selfish state? Throughout the entire exhibit I simply could not comprehend the level of disparity and hatred. My words simply cannot do justice to such an experience. Therefore, along the way I collected a few profound quotes from the individuals who are capable of expressing this pain in the most accurate manner possible (if it can be expressed at all), the victims.
“When I grow up and get to be 20 I’ll travel and see this world of plenty. In a bird with an engine I will sit myself down, take off and fly into space, far above the ground. I’ll fly, I’ll cruise and soar up high above a world so lovely into the sky…”
-Abramek Koplowicz (Murdered in Auschwitz at age 14).
“This is a time for sanctifying life, not for sanctifying God’s name through death. In the past, our enemies demanded our soul, and the Jews sacrificed his body to sanctify God’s name. Now the enemy is demanding the Jew’s body, and the Jew is obligated to defend it-to protect this life.”
-Rabbi Yitzhak Nissenbaum (Warsaw Ghetto)
“Remember only that I was innocent and just like you, mortal on that day, I, too, had had a face marked by rage, by pity and joy, quite simply, a human face!”
-Benjamin Fondane (1944-Killed at Auschwitz)
The Entrance
Outside the museum there were many trees dedicated to the "righteous among the nations." In other words, those non-Jews who put their own lives in danger to safe and protect Jews. This here is Oskar Schindler's plaque.
Before we entered the museum, we went through the exhibit dedicated to the children. These stone structures are dedicated to al lthe children who died throughout the span of the holocaust. These stone structures are set up in the arrangement of a class picture.
The Jewish Flag
BEAUTIFUL Cemetery outside the museum.
Peace Among the Storm
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