New England Holocaust Memorial
Encyclopedia
The New England Holocaust Memorial is a memorial in Boston, Massachusetts. It is dedicated to the Jews
who were killed in the Holocaust.
Each tower symbolizes a different major concentration camp (Majdanek, Chełmno, Sobibor
, Treblinka
, Bełżec, and Auschwitz-Birkenau
), but can also be taken to be menorah candles, the six million Jews killed in the Holocaust (one million per column), and the six years that the mass extermination took place, 1939-1945.
Each tower consists of twenty-four individual panels of glass. Twenty-two of the panels are inscribed with seven digit numbers and two of the panels are inscribed with messages. In total there are 132 panels from the six towers inscribed with numbers, however each panel is identical. A single panel contains 17,280 unique numbers which are subsequently repeated throughout the memorial. Numbers are arranged in eight by ten blocks, with each block consisting of sets of six numbers arranged in a six by six grid. In total there are 2,280,960 non-unique numbers listed on the 132 panels.
The New England Holocaust Memorial is located near the Freedom Trail
, and is only a few steps off the trail, making it a popular tourist attraction.
The site is maintained by the Boston National Historic Park and is located in Carmen Park, along Congress and Union
Streets, near Faneuil Hall
. Carmen Park was named in recognition of William Carmen's service to the community and his vision and leadership in creating the New England Holocaust Memorial.
The Memorial was targeted for destruction in a 2002 white supremacist terror plot
.
Jews
The Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are a nation and ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...
who were killed in the Holocaust.
Information
Designed by Stanley Saitowitz and erected in 1995, the memorial consists of six glass towers that the visitor can walk under. Engraved on the towers are six million numbers that symbolize the six million killed in the Holocaust. There are also random messages on the towers. Underneath the towers, steam rises up through metal grates from a dark floor with twinkling lights on it.Each tower symbolizes a different major concentration camp (Majdanek, Chełmno, Sobibor
Sobibór extermination camp
Sobibor was a Nazi German extermination camp located on the outskirts of the town of Sobibór, Lublin Voivodeship of occupied Poland as part of Operation Reinhard; the official German name was SS-Sonderkommando Sobibor...
, Treblinka
Treblinka extermination camp
Treblinka was a Nazi extermination camp in occupied Poland during World War II near the village of Treblinka in the modern-day Masovian Voivodeship of Poland. The camp, which was constructed as part of Operation Reinhard, operated between and ,. During this time, approximately 850,000 men, women...
, Bełżec, and Auschwitz-Birkenau
Auschwitz concentration camp
Concentration camp Auschwitz was a network of Nazi concentration and extermination camps built and operated by the Third Reich in Polish areas annexed by Nazi Germany during World War II...
), but can also be taken to be menorah candles, the six million Jews killed in the Holocaust (one million per column), and the six years that the mass extermination took place, 1939-1945.
Each tower consists of twenty-four individual panels of glass. Twenty-two of the panels are inscribed with seven digit numbers and two of the panels are inscribed with messages. In total there are 132 panels from the six towers inscribed with numbers, however each panel is identical. A single panel contains 17,280 unique numbers which are subsequently repeated throughout the memorial. Numbers are arranged in eight by ten blocks, with each block consisting of sets of six numbers arranged in a six by six grid. In total there are 2,280,960 non-unique numbers listed on the 132 panels.
The New England Holocaust Memorial is located near the Freedom Trail
Freedom Trail
The Freedom Trail is a red path through downtown Boston, Massachusetts, that leads to 16 significant historic sites. It is a 2.5-mile walk from Boston Common to Bunker Hill Monument in Charlestown. Simple ground markers explaining events, graveyards, notable churches and other buildings, and a...
, and is only a few steps off the trail, making it a popular tourist attraction.
The site is maintained by the Boston National Historic Park and is located in Carmen Park, along Congress and Union
Union Street (Boston, Massachusetts)
Union Street is a street in Boston, Massachusetts, near Faneuil Hall and the North End. Prior to 1828, it was also called Green Dragon Lane.-See also:* First Baptist Church * James Franklin * Green Dragon Tavern...
Streets, near Faneuil Hall
Faneuil Hall
Faneuil Hall , located near the waterfront and today's Government Center, in Boston, Massachusetts, has been a marketplace and a meeting hall since 1742. It was the site of several speeches by Samuel Adams, James Otis, and others encouraging independence from Great Britain, and is now part of...
. Carmen Park was named in recognition of William Carmen's service to the community and his vision and leadership in creating the New England Holocaust Memorial.
The Memorial was targeted for destruction in a 2002 white supremacist terror plot
2002 white supremacist terror plot
During a 2002 terror plot, a pair of white supremacists planned to bomb a series of institutions associated with African American and American Jewish communities.-Crime:...
.