Memorial Name
Memorial to the Six Million
Who is Commemorated?
Jewish victims of the Holocaust
Description
The monument is set upon a large stone platform and consists of six large fists holding shofarot that face inward. In the center is a 15 foot high (approx. 5 meters) eternal light consisting of Hebrew letters spelling Lo Tirtzach (thou Shalt Not Kill). The shofarot are so big, that the foundry had to cast each of them in four parts. Each fist is 1.5 meters high and the total height of the shofarot is 6 meters.
The sculptor, Herman Wald, described the monument in a letter to London’s Studio Magazine:
"This monument depicts six mighty bronze fists, each five feet high, bursting out of the ground as a protest of the dead, each fist representing one million Jews who perished under Hitler, and each gripping a ram's horn, the Jewish ritual trumpet standing twenty feet high. In pairs they create three arches; the arches of trials and tribulations that the Jewish people have all gone through during all the generations of persecution. In the centre there is a flame shaped Eternal Light, spiraling fifteen feet up...” (H.Wald) https://www.hermanwald.com/pages/Public_Work.aspx
Inscriptions
The large stone platform that holds shofarot is inscribed in Hebrew, Yiddish, Afrikaans, and English:
The plaque to the left from the stairs is inscribed in Afrikaans and English.
Ter
ewigdurende herinnering aan
die ses miljoen jode.
Slagoffers van die mens se
onmenslikheid teenoor die mens
wat in 1939 - 1945 in die
oodekampe van Europa vergaan het.
"Vergeet dit nie"
6,000,000
Translation: In everlasting memory of the six million Jews, victims of man’s inhumanity to man, who perished in the death camps of Europe between 1939 and 1945. "Thou shalt not forget." 6,000,000
In
everlasting memory of
the six million Jews
victims of man’s inhumanity to man
who perished
in the death camps of Europe
1939–1945.
‘thou shalt not forget’
6,000,000.”
The plaque to the right from the stairs is inscribed in Hebrew and Yiddish:
זכרון עולם
לששת המליונים הקדושים
שמסרו נפשם על קדושת השם
ת"ש – תש"ה
זכור את אשר עשה לך עמלק
של ימינו אלה
הביטו וראו אם יש מכאוב כמכאובי
נער וזקן בתולותי ובחורי נפלו בחרב
על אלה אני בוכיה עיני עיני ירדה מים
6,000,000
Translation: Eternal memory to the six million martyrs, who gave their souls for the sanctification of the name, 1939 - 1945. "Remember what Amalek did to you" [Deuteronomy 25:17] in our days. "Look about and see: Is there any agony like mine" [Lamentations 1:12]. "Both young and old, my maidens and youths are fallen by the sword" [Lamentations 2:21]. "For these things I weep, my eyes flow with tears" [Lamentations 1:16]. 6,000,000
יזכור
געדענקט די זעקס מיליאן יידן, וואס
זיינען אומגעקומען על קדוש השם
און על קידוש העם
געדענק! – טרעבלינקע.
געדענק! –מאידאנעק.
געדענק! –בוכענוואלד.
געדענק! –אוישוויץ.
געדענק! – די גאז קאמערן.
געדענק! – די 6,000,000 יידן.
Translation: "Remember! Remember the six million Jews who perished for the sanctification of the name and sanctification of the people. Remember! - Treblinka. Remember! - Majdanek. Remember! - Buchenwald. Remember! - Auschwitz. Remember! - Gas cells. Remember! - the six million Jews.
The platform has an additional dedicatory plaque in Yiddish and English:
דעם פונדאמנט
האבן מנדב געווען
ה' און פרוי
מ. יעיל
דעם צטן [!] אפריל
1959
Translation: This foundation was donated by Mr. and Mrs. M. Yale. The [17th of] April 1959
This foundation was donated by
Mr. and Mrs. M. Yale.
The 17th of April 1959.
Lying flat at the front of the platform is a plaque installed when the memorial was renovated and rededicated in 1995:
This memorial was
rededicated by the
South African Jewish
community in memory
of the martyrs and
commemorates the
liberation of the
concentration camps
fifty years ago
27 April 1995 – 27 Nissan 5755
Commissioned by
Jewish Communal Monument Committee and the South African Jewish Board of Deputies
Beginning in 1955 plans were discussed by South African Jewish leaders for a monument to Holocaust victims. South Africa had a large Jewish population from Lithuania and other countries, almost all of whom had lot family. By the mid-1950s a large number of survivors had also settled in South Africa. A competition was held and Herman Wald, a Jewish sculptor born in Cluj, Hungary (now Romania) was chosen in 1957 and work began on the massive project which was completed and dedicated in May 1959. Thousands attended the dedication which received international attention. The memorial became the site of annual Holocaust commemoration events.
In the decades following its dedication the monument was vandalized and fell into disrepair. It was rededicated in 1995. Survivors from concentration camps formed a guard of honor; the ner tamid (“eternal light”) was kindled; a cantor chanted the Hazkarat neshamot (the prayer for the repose of the deceased), Kaddish (the memorial prayer for the dead), and Yigdal (a prayer about God’s greatness); and a choir sang the Partisan Song (“Never say there is only death for you”) and Ha-Tikvah, the Israeli national anthem, followed by Psalm. 91.
According to the New York Times (May 11, 1959) the monument costs about $40,000.
The Memorial to the Six Million is now an iconic Jewish landmark in South Africa. Each year the Remembrance to the Six Million ceremony is held at the monument with the base serving as the platform for the speakers and choir.
Wald and his wife Vera are buried next to the monument, according to the artist’s last wishes.