Obj. ID: 42167  Holocaust Memorial in Charleston, SC, USA, 1999

Who is Commemorated?

All victims of nazism, including Jews, political dissidents, homosexuals, the mentally and physically disabled, Roma (Gypsies), and Jehovah’s witnesses

Description

The central element is a lonely, discarded tallit, the Jewish prayer shawl used by men in the synagogue and in which for some it was customary to be wrapped for burial. Cast in bronze, the tallit lies on the floor of a rectangular space that can been seen as a synagogue, a prison, or even perhaps a gas chamber. Left behind, the tallit indicates prayer and life cut short, but also the rites of proper burial denied.

In 2015, architect Levi said the memorial was originally designed in three parts; the sanctuary, a place of reflection meant to “transcend even the terrible events of the mid-twentieth century;” the place of assembly; and then the place of remembrance [Boughton, 2015]. Three divisions of the monument recall the purposes of a synagogue - a house of gathering, a house of prayer, and study. 

The north side is a rectangular, sunken lawn framed by graded steps, intended as a place of contemplation and a meeting ground for the annual Yom Ha Shoah (National Day of Holocaust Remembrance) ceremonies.

The center of the memorial, or sanctuary, is a rectangular space, about the same size as the meeting space. This is a raised platform screened by a two-story high screen of mill-finish stainless steel, that creates a series of narrow bays which taken together recall an eclosed synagogue sanctuary, on the pavement of which lies a lonely, discarded tallit the Jewish prayer shawl used by men in the synagogue – cast in bronze. The tallit is representative of the prayer – or the absence of it in the empty synagogue. For some Jews it was customary to be wrapped in a tallit for burial, so this is also a symbol of death. Left behind, the tallit indicates prayer and life cut short, but also the rites of proper burial denied.

The south side faces Calhoun Street and features a low wall with a built-in bench the tuns the entire length. Affixed to the wall that is the back of the bench are the names oof 21 concentration and death camps spelled out in applied bronze letters. At the far left and right of this wall are rectangular bronze blocks with inscriptions on their fronts and tops. In the center of the camp name is a large bronze plaque with a text detailing Holocaust history, and listing names of survivors living in South Carolina. 

Inscriptions

Bronze block at west end of wall, inscription on front:

IN MEMORIUM
1999

Bronze block at west end of wall, inscription on top:

THIS MEMORIAL ARISES OUT OF A COLLABORATION BETWEEN THE BOARD OF OFFICERS
OF THE SUMTER GUARD AND WASHINGTON LIGHT INFANTRY, THE CITY OF CHARLESTON, AND THE CHARLESTON JEWISH FEDERATION. 

IT IS ERECTED TO REMEMBER THOSE WHO WERE MURDERED IN THE HOLOCAUST IN
EUROPE BETWEEN 1933 - 1945, AND TO HONOR THE SURVIVORS WHO CAME TO 
OUTH CAROLINA TO REBUILD THEIR LIVES.

WE REMEMBER THE HOLOCAUST TO ALERT OURSELVES TO THE DANGERS OF PREJUDICE,
TO EXPRESS OUR OUTRAGE AT THE SCOURGE OF RACISM, AND TO WARN THE WORLD
THAT RACISM CAN LEAD TO GENOCIDE.
THE TALLIT IS A FOUR CORNERED GARMENT WORN BY MANY JEWS AT PRAYER.
IT IS CUSTOMARY FOR JEWS TO USE THE TALLIT AS A BURIAL SHROUD
WITH ONE OF ITS FOUR FRINGES REMOVED AS A SYMBOL OF DEATH AND MOURNING.

On front of bronze block set in wall:

IN MEMORIAM

TO THOSE WHO PERISHED IN THE HOLOCAUST 1933 - 1945

On top of bronze block set in wall:

From 1933 until 1945, the National Socialist (Nazi) regime in Germany implemented a racial theory declaring the “German Aryan Race” superior. The Nazis used this perverse Theory and their military and industrial might to dominate Europe and to separate, imprison and ultimately destroy millions of human beings. Those who the Nazis deemed undesirable and sought to eliminate included political dissidents, homosexuals, the mentally and physically disabled, Roma (Gypsies) and Jehovah’s witnesses. But their chief victims were six million Jews.

 What began as racial laws to strip Jews of their livelihood, their property and their civil rights accelerated into a campaign to systematically slaughter millions of men, women and children. By 1942, the machinery of mass murder was in full operation. Jews and other victims from all over Europe were sent to some 9000 concentration and labor camps throughout Europe, and to the killing centers at Auschwitz-Birkenau, Sobibor, Majdanek, Treblinka, Belzec and Chelmno located in Poland.

 The denial of Human Rights with advanced technology and a pitiless will to dominate, caused the death of innocent millions and the annihilation of most of the Jews of Europe.

On side wall, central plaque applied to wall:

 ON THAT DAY, ONE WHO HAS ESCAPED WILL COME TO YOU TO LET YOU HEAR IT WITH YOUR OWN EARS.” EZEKIEL 24:26
AS SURVIVORS OF THE TRAGIC EVENTS IN EUROPE FROM 1933 TO 1945, THE FOLLOWING RESIDENTS OF SOUTH CAROLINA HAVE BEEN LIVING TESTIMONY IN OUR MIDST.

Four columns of names

“…WE TODAY ARE A REMNANT THAT HAS SURVIVED.” EZRA 9:15

On side wall, a plaque set horizontally: 

DURING THE HOLOCAUST, JEWS AND OTHER PERSECUTED
PEOPLES WERE IMPRISONED IN 10S OF THOUSANDS OF
CONCENTRATION CAMPS, INCLUDING TRANSIT, LABOR
AND DEATH CAMPS. THE NAMES OF THE TWENTY FOUR
MAJOR CAMPS IN EUROPE ARE INSCRIBED ON
THIS WALL OF REMEMBRANCE. THEY ARE POSITIONED
GEOGRAPHICALLY FROM EAST TO WEST TO REFLECT THEIR
EXTENT THROUGHOUT EUROPE.

Kaiserwald
Janowska
Sobibor
Belzec
Majdanek
Treblinka
Plaszow
Auschwitz-Birhenau
Stuthof
Chelmno
Gross-Rosen
Mauthausen
Terezin

 CENTRAL PLAQUE

 Sachsenhausen
Oranienburg
Ravensbruck
Flossenburg
Buchenwald
Dora-Mittlebau/mordhausen
Neuengamme
Dachau

Plaque set in the ground near western edge of memorial:

DEDICATED ON APRIL 13TH, 1999, BY THE HONORABLE JOSEPH P RILEY, JR.
MAYOR OF THE CITY OF CHARLESTON.

 DAVID POPOWSKI, CHAIR, CHARLESTON HOLOCAUST MEMORIAL COMMITTEE
ANITA G ZUCKER, FUNDRAISING CHAIR
JEFFREY M ROSENBLUM, AIA, DESIGN CHAIR
JENNIFER ENRIQUEZ PHILLIPS, DEVELOPMENT CHAIR
 PINCUS KOLENDER, JOSEPH ENGEL, CHARLES MARKOWITZ,
AND SAM GREEN, HONORARY CHAIRS
JERRY AND ANITA ZUCKER, CORNERSTONE BENEFACTORS

MEMORIAL PROJECT TEAM: JONATHAN LEVI ARCHITECTS, INC., BOSTON, MA
(FORMERLY STEIN/LEVI ARCHITECTS, INC.)
DESIGN WORKS, L.C., CHARLESTON,
SCSCULPTOR: JONATHAN LEVI
CONTRACTOR: STIER, KENT AND CANADY, INC., CHARLESTON, SC

CHARLESTON HOLOCAUST MEMORIAL