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Obj. ID: 34196
Modern Jewish Art
  Memorial to Victims of the Injustice of the Holocaust in Madison Square Park, New York City, NY, USA, 1988-1990

© Vladimir Levin, Photographer: Levin, Vladimir, 2019

Memorial name

Memorial to the Victims of the Injustice of the Holocaust

Who is Commemorated?

Victims of the Holocaust

Description

The memorial was added to an existing courthouse building at Madison Square, one of Manhattan’s busiest public spaces. A half-column, resembling a smokestack of a crematorium, was added to the northeast corner of the façade of the 1896 Beaux-arts building. The column is decorated in swirling flames and carved at eye level is a representation of the Auschwitz I concentration camp. The camp is shown from a highly detailed bird’s-eye view, with the commandant’s house, the execution wall, torture chamber, gas chamber, and crematorium. Around the carving is inscribed the words, “Indifference to Injustice… Is the Gate to Hell."

The sculpture is based on an aerial photograph taken on August 25, 1944, by the 15th US Army Air Force.

The New York City Department of Cultural Affairs describes the sculpture as:

"a six-sided half column rising 27 feet above its base. The five-sided concave base extends one story below ground level, the overall height of the Memorial being 38 feet. Carvings of flames along the length of the column recall the flames of the gas chambers at Auschwitz. They appear to blow in the direction of the courthouse as if to threaten the symbol of Justice. A relief of an aerial view of the main camp at Auschwitz is carved into the base at eye level... On the base under the relief is a giant flame extending below ground level as a final reminder of Crematorium 1 at Auschwitz."
[Memorial to the Victims of the Injustice of the Holocaust, CultureNow]

The names of the sculptor, commissioner, sponsor, and owner are listed on a small plaque next to the memorial.

Inscriptions

Engraved around the image:

Indifference to Injustice is the Gate to Hell

Five points within the Auschwitz camp that were visible in the original photograph are labeled:

Torture Chamber
Execution Wall
Gas Chamber and Crematorium 1
Commandant's House

Under the relief, the place and date of the original photograph are given:

Auschwitz 1 / 25 August 1944

On a small plaque:

Memorial to All Victims of the Holocaust, 1938 – 1945

Commissioned by

Organization for the Memorial to Victims of the Injustice of the Holocaust and sponsored by the New York Department of Citywide Administrative Services

Summary and Remarks
Remarks

4 image(s)

sub-set tree:

Name/Title
Memorial to Victims of the Injustice of the Holocaust in Madison Square Park, New York City | Unknown
Object Detail
Monument Setting
Date
1988-1990
Synagogue active dates
Reconstruction dates
Artist/ Maker
Feigenbaum, Harriet (sculptor)
{"2296":"American, b. 1939"}
Historical Origin
Unknown
Community type
Unknown |
Congregation
Unknown
Location
United States of America (USA) | New York | New York City, NY | Manhattan
| 31 Madison Avenue, Appellate Division Courthouse in Madison Square
Site
Unknown
School/Style
Unknown|
Period
Unknown
Period Detail
Documentation / Research project
Unknown
Textual Content
Languages of inscription
Shape / Form
Material / Technique
Material Stucture
Marble
Material Decoration
Carved
Material Bonding
Material Inscription
Material Additions
Material Cloth
Material Lining
Tesserae Arrangement
Density
Colors
Construction material
Measurements
Height
8.2 m
Length
Width
Depth
Circumference
Thickness
Diameter
Weight
Axis
Panel Measurements
Condition
Extant
Documented by CJA
Surveyed by CJA
Present Usage
Present Usage Details
Condition of Building Fabric
Architectural Significance type
Historical significance: Event/Period
Historical significance: Collective Memory/Folklore
Historical significance: Person
Architectural Significance: Style
Architectural Significance: Artistic Decoration
Urban significance
Significance Rating
0
Ornamentation
Custom
Contents
Codicology
Scribes
Script
Number of Lines
Ruling
Pricking
Quires
Catchwords
Hebrew Numeration
Blank Leaves
Direction/Location
Façade (main)
Endivances
Location of Torah Ark
Location of Apse
Location of Niche
Location of Reader's Desk
Location of Platform
Temp: Architecture Axis
Arrangement of Seats
Location of Women's Section
Direction Prayer
Direction Toward Jerusalem
Coin
Coin Series
Coin Ruler
Coin Year
Denomination
Signature
Colophon
Scribal Notes
Watermark
Hallmark
Group
Group
Group
Group
Group
Trade Mark
Binding
Decoration Program
Suggested Reconsdivuction
History/Provenance

The idea for the memorial purportedly originated with Judge Francis T. Murphy, presiding justice of the New York State Court of Appeals. An organization was formed to promote the idea. A competition was held in 1988 and was won by Harriet Feigenbaum, who proposed to create a replica of an aerial photograph of the Auschwitz concentration camp taken by American planes as they bombed German oil factories nearby on August 25, 1944. The photo and others indicate that U.S. planes had the ability to bomb the death camp, but the camp was not designated as a priority target.

Main Surveys & Excavations
Sources

Memorial to the Victims of the Injustice of the Holocaust, CultureNOW, https://culturenow.org/entry&permalink=01507&seo=Holocaust-Memorial_Harriet-Feigenbaum (accessed February 20, 2022)

“Memorial to Victims of the Injustice of the Holocaust,”
Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memorial_to_Victims_of_the_Injustice_of_the_Holocaust.

“The Hidden Holocaust Memorial of Madison Park: A Manhattan Courthouse Hides a Small but Scathing Memorial to Holocaust Injustice.”, https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/the-hidden-holocaust-memorial-of-madison-park-new-york-new-york (accessed December 13, 2021)
Type
Documenter
Vladimir Levin | 2019
Author of description
Samuel D. Gruber | 2021
Architectural Drawings
|
Computer Reconstruction
|
Section Head
|
Language Editor
|
Donor
|
Negative/Photo. No.
The following information on this monument will be completed: