Obj. ID: 45488
Modern Jewish Art "The Flame of Hope" Memorial in Vilnius, Lithuania, 2000
Memorial name
Vilties liepsna, The Flame of Hope
Who is Commemorated?
Thousands of murdered Lithuanian Jews
Description:
The memorial is located near the northern corner of a courtyard.
The metal sculpture of a flame is situated on a high pedestal tiled with marble. The “flame” reflects the building of the courtyard (therefore the access of the public to it is somewhat restricted).
An inscription in Lithuania that reads “The Flame of Hope” is placed on the front of the pedestal. On its back, identical inscriptions in Lithuanian and English describe the topic of the memorial and list the donors. A small inscription indicating the sculptor’s name is located above the Lithuanian text.
Inscriptions:
On the facade:
In Lithuanian:
Vilties liepsna
Translation: Flame of Hope
On the back side:
In Lithuanian:
Čia, buvusiame judenrato (geto tarybos)
kieme, prisimindami tūkstančius nužudytų
lietuvos žydų, tariame: Tai neturi pasi-
kartoti!
Paminklą pastatyti padėjo:
Tarptautinis menų fondas, JAV; Sulamita
Shelly Rybak Pearson, JAV; skulptorius
Leonardas Niermanas, Meksika;
JAV Paveldo užsienyje apsaugos komisija;
Hyman ir Ida Kirsner, JAV
In English:
Here, on the site of the former Judenrat
(Vilnius Ghetto Council), we remember
thousands of murdered Lithuanian Jews
and say: This should never happen again!
The memorial has been erected by
The International Foundation for the
Arts, USA; Sulamita Shelly Rybak Pearson,
USA; Leonardo Nierman, Mexico; The United
States Commission for the Preservation
of America’s Heritage Abroad; Hyman and
Ida Kirsner, USA
In English:
Artist:
Leonardo Nierman
Commissioned by
The International Foundation for the Arts, USA; Sulamita-Sheilly Rybak-Pearson, USA; Leonardo Nierman, Mexico; The United States Commission for the Preservation of America’s Heritage Abroad; Hyman and Ida Kirsner, USA.
sub-set tree:
The building at 8 Rūdninkų St./ 5 Arklių St. was built in the 18th century as a palace of the Oginski family. The courtyard building was constructed in the late 19th century. In the interwar period, the Jewish Real Gymnasium was located there. Upon the establishment of the Large Ghetto on September 6, 1941, a new Judenrat occupied the courtyard building (Guzenberg 2021, 152).
The sculpture was unveiled on October 5, 2000.
Agranovskii, Genrikh and Irina Guzenberg. Vilnius: Po sledam Litovskogo Ierusalima. Pamiatnye mesta ereiskoi istorii i kul’tury, 2nd ed. (Vilnius: The Vilna Gaon Jewish State Museum, 2016)., 192.
Guzenberg, Irina, Vilnius: Traces of the Jewish Jerusalem of Lithuania. Memorable Sites of Jewish History and Culture. A Guidebook (Vilnius: Pavilniai, 2021)., 200.
Guzenberg, Irina. Vilnius: Pamiatnye mesta evreiskoi istorii i kul'tury (Vilnius: Pavilniai, 2013)., 63.