ISRAEL, day 109 continued

In the afternoon we went to YAD VASHEM, THE HOLOCAUST REMEMBRANCE MUSEUM.

YAD VASHEM is a HOLOCAUST REMEMBRANCE MUSEUM  built to commemorate the 6 million who died in the HOLOCAUST it is a deeply moving place to visit. So far 4.6 the names of 4.6 million JEWS are written there and they are continuing to look for more...

Pictures are not allowed inside the Museum so I can only give you an objective description of the layout of the building. I will not even try to describe how it felt to be there...to actually see and hear what  happened to the innocence when others in the world are not paying attention...

AS YOU WALK DOWN THE PATH TOWARD THE FRONT DOOR OF THE MEMORIAL YOU NOTICE THAT THE PATH TURNS TO WOODEN BOARDS THAT ARE SOMEWHAT  UNEVEN UNDER YOUR FEET, AS YOU WALK ON THE PATH DECLINES SLIGHTLY, HONESTLY GIVING YOU A SENSE OF THE DREAD THAT MAY HAVE BEEN FELT... 

THE ENTRANCE

"The museum's 180 meters – long linear structure in the form of a spike cuts through the mountain with its uppermost edge – a skylight – protruding through the mountain ridge. Galleries portraying the complexity of the Jewish situation during those terrible years branch off this spike-like shaft, and the exit emerges dramatically out of the mountainside, affording a view of the valley below. Unique settings, spaces with varying heights, and different degrees of light accentuate focal points of the unfolding narrative".

The door where you enter the building is at a right angle all  at one end, when you enter in addition to the sense of vast space you see on the left a black & white movie of how the JEWS lived, worked & played in the years that they were not oppressed, THE WORLD THAT WAS, before the THIRD REICH spread their propaganda blaming the JEWS for all of the wrongs in the world.
Once you complete the movie you turn to your right to see the total length of the pyramid and on either side are the openings to the 9 gallery's  which are:

FROM EQUALS TO OUTCASTS
THE AWFUL BEGINNING
BETWEEN WALLS AND FENCES
MASS MURDER
THE FINAL SOLUTION
RESISTANCE & RESCUE
THE LAST JEWS RETURN TO LIFE
FACING THE LOSS

This list does not include THE HALL OF NAMES, which is a work in progress, since they continue to add names. This exhibit becomes a virtual reality...

VIEW AS YOU EXIT THE BUILDING

"A core goal of Yad Vashem's founders was to recognize gentiles who, at personal risk and without a financial or evangelistic motive, chose to save their Jewish brethren from the ongoing genocide during the Holocaust. Those recognized by Israel as Righteous Among the Nations are honored in a section of Yad Vashem known as the Garden of the Righteous Among the Nations".

THE GARDEN IS TO THE RIGHT OF THE ENTRANCE

THIS TREE REPRESENTS THE SCHINDLERS

A MEMORIAL TO ALL THAT FOUGHT AGAINST THE NAZIS IN WWII

MEMORIAL HALL
Lists the names of all of the Concentration Camps

THE ETERNAL LIGHT 

ABSOLUTELY HEARTBREAKING

YOU ENTER TOTAL DARKNESS EXCEPT FOR THE LIGHTS THAT TWINKLE AS YOU WALK THROUGH & THE NAMES OF EACH CHILD,THAT THEY ARE AWARE OF IS SPOKEN OUT LOUD FOR ALL TO HEAR

AS A PART OF THEIR TRAINING YOUNG SOLDIERS ARE REQUIRED TO VISIT THE MUSEUM 

Below is a group of your men who happened to be getting their orientation when we were there.

"Most of the Jews of Europe were dead by 1945. A civilization that had flourished for almost 2,000 years was no more. The survivors – one from a town, two from a host – dazed, emaciated, bereaved beyond measure, gathered the remnants of their vitality and the remaining sparks of their humanity, and rebuilt. They never meted out justice to their tormentors – for what justice could ever be achieved after such a crime? Rather, they turned to rebuilding: new families forever under the shadow of those absent; new life stories, forever warped by the wounds; new communities, forever haunted by the loss".

YAD VASHEM is a visit never to be forgotten. We were emotional at times & at the same time hopeful, we felt that it  being there...was a worthwhile experience...If you  cannot visit at this time & may want see more of YAD VASHEM you can go to their website yadvashem.org.

THIS CANDELABRA IS A COPY OF THE ONE THAT WAS IN THE 2nd TEMPLE

IT WAS DONATED BY GREAT BRITAIN AND STANDS ON THE GROUNDS OF THE ISRAELI PARLIAMENT