Before the Second World War, the Jewish community in the Netherlands numbered around 140,000 people. They had been there for centuries, running various businesses and participating in the social and cultural life of the country. After the horrors of the German occupation and systematic deportations, only a few thousand survived from this huge group of people. The victims of the holocaust are commemorated by the National Memorial to the Names of Holocaust Victims in Amsterdam.
The monument was erected in the very centre of Amsterdam, in the former Jewish quarter of Jodenbuurt. The National Monument to the Names of Holocaust Victims was unveiled on 19 September 2021 in the presence of, among others, King Willem-Alexander. The structure was erected as a tribute to the more than 102,000 victims of the Holocaust – mostly Jews, but also Sinti and Roma murdered during the German occupation between 1940 and 1945, most of whom died in Auschwitz and Sobibor. The memorial was built on the initiative of the Dutch Auschwitz Committee. The area on which it was built was a subject of dispute from the very beginning. Neighbours and public institutions debated for a long time whether a modern and emotionally charged object would fit in this part of town. In the end, a compromise was decided on, which allowed the building to have a special character that was a synthesis of memory and a modern form of expression.
The designer of the memorial is the internationally renowned and respected architect Daniel Libeskind, who for years has undertaken the creation of memorials and museums relating to the tragedy of the mid-20th century. His Amsterdam project does not resemble a classic memorial. It is a space that one enters, that one traverses, and that activates not only the intellect but also the senses. The whole resembles a cramped, austere labyrinth filled with the silent weight of names written on bricks. Four steel beams suspended above the walls form the Hebrew letters that make up the word לזכר – “liskor”, meaning “to remember”. The mirrors above reflect the surroundings, creating a sense of immersion in the past that coexists with the present.
Each of the more than 102,000 bricks is inscribed with the name, date of birth and age at the time of death of each victim. This was a conscious artistic and ethical decision to restore the individual identity of those who had been reduced to numbers in the death camps. The alphabet of bricks is not random and is arranged in something that resembles a scattered book of memory, enclosed in a geometric space. A separate part of the composition is the Wall of 1000 Names. This is a section of the memorial where empty bricks have been left for victims whose identities may be discovered in the future. The wall symbolises the incompleteness of our knowledge and the continuity of the memory process. The memorial does not close history, but opens it up to future generations.
The raw material of the building is also an element worth highlighting. The bricks were donated by the Rodruz brickworks in Rossum. Their colour evokes associations with blood, earth, home and also with permanence. Combined with mirrored steel, they create a contrast between the physical and tactile and the ephemeral and reflective. The Holocaust memorial in Amsterdam has many dimensions. Artistry and meaningful symbolism intermingle with the desire and need for ongoing education. The site is visited in large numbers by school tours, organised groups, as well as private individuals. Each visit is an opportunity to learn about the personal stories of victims and survivors, whose voices continue to resonate through the activities of the Dutch Auschwitz Committee.
Source: holocaustnamenmonument.nl, libeskind.com
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