Boston Traveler's Series: #2 - New England Holocaust Memorial...
Written: Jun 16 '08 (Updated Feb 26 '09)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Breathtaking, touching, truly eye opening in its method of display
Cons: Location isn't very conducive to quietness or a prayerful mood.
The Bottom Line: A touching reminder of a horrid time in our world's history. It should be visited to appreciate its deep meaning and honor.
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| ace3502's Full Review: New England Holocaust Memorial |
I take great pride in being from Boston. I always have. I take a special sense of pride in the fact that our city is so rich with history. I often forget that the city has so much to offer to tourists. That being said, I decided to play tourist in my own town. This review is kicking off my Boston Travelers Series. Over the next few months I'm going to write various reviews from all over Boston and its tourist spots. Hopefully it will serve as a guide for potential visitors to our fantastic city and help them decide what they would most appreciate seeing as travelers.
Location
Dedicated in October of 1995, this is a stop on the Freedom Trail (which is a tourist trail which runs through sight seeing locations all over Boston). Located on bustling Congress Street in downtown Boston, the memorial over shadows the nearby buildings. The actual "park" it is in, (and I put that in quotes because its a very small area to call a park), is called Carmen Park. Across the street from such bars as The Tap and Purple Shamrock, the memorial isn't in a very quiet place which brings me to one of the only down sides of the memorial. The constant hustle and bustle of the nearby traffic can be quite distracting to people trying to appreciate the memorial for its beauty and meaning. Being one of the first streets someone could drive to coming out of the main highway that runs under the city, Congress Street may not have been the best location chosen for this memorial. On the upside of things though, the memorial is within walking distance of many subway stations, I think the easiest is Government Center. The location of the memorial also gives you great placement in the city, as you are just a short distance from Faneuil Hall, and Quincy Market which are pretty busy tourist locations among others deeper in the city. You can very easily check three tourist spots off your list by going to this location.
The Memorial
A million is a number that is thrown around daily. This athlete signed a contract for 30 million dollars today. That musician just sold out all his concerts and is going to make 10 million dollars this year, the recent natural disaster is going to cost over 100 million dollars to fix. We are sort of numb to it. When that number changes over to people however, that becomes more than a catastrophe, it becomes a holocaust. Six million people were murdered at the abominable Nazi concentration camps. This memorial is a small token of memory, love, hope, and remembrance to those individuals.
Upon arrival to the memorial, the visitor is greeted by six towers, 54 feet tall, looming above the trees that surround it. All in a row, with interior illumination, are panes of glass in sections going up and down all four sides of the towers. Approaching the memorial at either end, large rectangular stone sections, about 10 inches thick, six feet across, and four feet tall, greet the visitor with a quote on one side and a poem on the other.
One end has the famous short poem from Martin Niemoller: "...they came for the Communists, And I did not speak for I was not a Communist. Then they came for trade unionists, And I did not speak up for I was not a trade unionist. And then they came for the Jews, And I did not speak up for I was not a Jew. And then... They came for me... And there was no one left to speak..."
Truly a shocking introduction to this memorial, but that is just the beginning of the eye opening shock and awe that becomes this memorial. Before walking up to each tower, on the ground the visitor reads the name of each of the six primary Nazi concentration camps, Chelmno, Majdanek, Treblinka, Belzec, Sobibor, and Auschwitz-Birkenau.
Stepping into the tower on the left and right sides are various quotes from members of the camps, and the liberating armies that freed them.
Just to give you an idea of the feelings of pain and suffering that surround this memorial, I want to share with you one of the quotes, which reads: "At first the bodies wern't burned, they were buried. In January, 1944, we were forced to dig up the bodies so they could be burned. When the last mass grave was opened, I recognized my whole family - my mother, my sisters and their kids. They were all in there." ~Motke Zaidl - Holocaust Survivor
After reading the quotes, and stepping into the actual tower, the visitor will step over a grate that becomes the floor, breaking up the fluid black granite that covers the rest of the walkway. Standing over the grate, the visitor feels a cloud of heat rising through the grate. Below the grate is a six foot deep chamber with hot coals radiating heat and lightly illuminating the name of the Nazi concentration camp that particular tower represents. Also, between each of the towers, along both sides of the granite path, are factual statements about the Nazi party and chronologically documenting their rise and fall in power. Now, after feeling the heat and seeing the smoke rising through the grate, looking up to the rest of the glass panes, the visitor sees the most breathtaking sight on this memorial. A series of numbers, etched into the glass, symbolic of the numbers that were tattooed on the prisoners arms. These series of numbers, line the glass panes, top to bottom, side to side, numbering a total of one million on each tower for a grand total of SIX MILLION numbers that cover the tower, top to bottom.
The sight of the 54 foot towers, combined with the horrific quotes on each, the heat rising from the grate under each tower, and internally illuminated glass panes with six million numbers etched on them create a feeling one can only describe by being there. The sorrow pierces right through you.
Who To Bring And How Much Does It Cost
Clearly by the nature of this memorial I would not suggest bringing young children to it. I feel it is imperative for every generation to know and understand this event but be sure that your child is of a good understanding age before bringing them and explaining to them this cataclysmic event. Other than making sure any children you bring are of an appropriate age, I feel everyone should take a walk through this memorial to understand and get a sense of the pain that was this event.
The good part about it is that it is free and is open 24 hours a day so feel free to have it work into your travel schedule any way you would like.
Overall
This is a free, and breathtaking sight in Boston. There really is no reason to not make a visit to it. Walk slow, take it in, and let yourself appreciate the emotion that surrounds this touching yet saddening memorial. At the beginning of the memorial, inscribed in English and in Hebrew, then again in English and in Yiddish at the end of the memorial, is the word REMEMBER. Surely with such a touching tribute, visitors to this site will always do so.
© Copyright 2008 - ace3502
Boston Traveler's Series:
# 1 - The Boston Garden
# 2 - New England Holocaust Memorial
# 3 - Fenway Park
# 4 - Lexington, Massachusetts
# 5 - Faneuil Hall / Quincy Market
# 6 - New England Aquarium
Looking for a place to stay around Boston? Try:
Marriott Boston-Burlington Hotel
Marriott Boston-Long Wharf
Marriott Boston-Woburn North Hotel
The Westin Waltham-Boston Hotel
Recommended:
Yes
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ace3502
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Member: Andrew
Location: Boston, Massachusetts
Reviews written: 108
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