Obj. ID: 48845 Holocaust Memorial in Temple Beth El in Bloomfield Hills, MI, USA, after 1973
Memorial Name
"Holocaust"
Who is Commemorated?
Jewish victims of the Holocaust
Description
The memorial is a large wall relief on the side wall of the large foyer area in front of the sanctuary of Temple Beth El, Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. The relief is in two levels. A large abstract background assembled from many cut pieces of gold-colored sheet metal (aluminum?) creates the impression of a wall in flames. Attached to this are three independent bronze sculptures which protrude in high relief.
On the left is a figurative group of a man and a woman with a small child. The woman carries the child in her arms and the child holds the mother. The mother moves to the left but looks back to the right. Behind her stands a man with outstretched arms in distress or anger. His right arm reaches straight in the direction the woman is moving, and the man’s palm is open. His left arm is raised over his head and the palm is clenched. The woman’s mouth is closed. The man’s mouth is open as if he is shouting.
In the center is a bronze relief of a damaged Torah scroll open to Chapter 12 of Genesis, where some of the words of verses 1-3 are legible in raised bronze letters. That passage, commonly known as Lekh L'khah calls Abraham from his father’s house and God promises to make his descendants a great nation.
On the right of the sculpture is a bronze relief of a nude female child being lifted by one foot by a disembodied arm, in a way that suggests torture or murder. The arm is clenched on the ankle of the child who dangles upside down with her other leg extended, both arms extended, and her mouth open in a scream. A second arm with a clenched fist is connected to the first.
Two small metal (zinc?), rectangular tablets are attached to the wall to the right of the relief. They both give the names of the title and artist, and each indicates a separate family of donors.
Inscription
On the bronze Torah scroll in the center of the work in Hebrew (Genesis 12: 1-4):
ויאמר יהוה אל א[ברם] לך לך [מארצך וממולדתך]
ומבית אביך אל הארץ [אשר אראך ואעשך לגוי]
גדול ואברכך ואגדלה [שמך והיה ברכה ואברכה]
מברכיך ומקללך אאר [ונברכו בך כל משפחת]
האדמה וילך אברם כאשר
HOLOCAUST
BY
Arthur Schenider
In Loving Memory of
Benjamin Shwayder and Richard Shwayder
By The Shwayder Family
HOLOCAUST
BY
Arthur Schenider
In Loving Memory of
Sol and Frances Rosenhaus and Harold Ziv
By The Mel Rosenhaus Family
Commissioned By
The Shwayder Family and the Mel Rosenhaus Family
11 image(s)
| 7400 Telegraph Rd
Aluminium (?)