Obj. ID: 53375  Witnesses Wall in the Holocaust Memorial Museum in Houston, TX, USA, 2019

Name of Monument
Witnesses: The Community of Houston Survivors (Holocaust Survivors Wall)

Who/What is Commemorated?
Holocaust Survivors who settled in the Houston area

Description 
The convex wall is made of thin slabs of Jerusalem limestone. It is located on the second level of the Holocaust Museum Houston in front of the entrance to the Albert and Ethel Herzstein Theater. The wall consists of twelve courses of smooth rectangular slabs, meant to look like sold blocks. Stones are inscribed with names of survivors from the fourth course from the top until the third course from the bottom – a total of seven courses. Most stones are rectangular with a width twice their height. On these are inscribed two columns each with four names. Mixed in are square blocks, each with four names. In all, more the 1000 names are listed.
In front of the wall is a metal stand with a titled inscribed panel that explains in general terms – in English and Spanish – the plight, suffering and survival of those named.

Inscriptions

The metal stand in front of the wall bears identical inscriptions in English and Spanish.

In English: 

The community of Houston Survivors

We honor our survivors who made their home in Houston and surrounding areas. They survived the Holocaust in Nazi concentration in slave labor camps, in ghettos and hiding places. Some lived as non Jews or fought in partisan groups, while others, due to political events, found themselves displaced and had to endure harsh conditions. Only a few found safety in accepting countries.
While the Holocaust refers specifically to the systematic persecution and annihilation of the Jews, we also honor the non-Jews in our community who were victims of Nazi aggression.
Holocaust survivors inspire us with their strength, their courage, and their perseverance. They are proof of the indomitable human spirit.

In Spanish:

La comunidad de Sobrevivientes de Houston

Honramos a nuestros sobrevivientes que han hecho de Houston y sus alrededores su hogar. Ellos sobrevivieron el Holocausto en campos de concentración y de trabajos forzados nazis, guetos y en la clandestinidad. Algunos vivieron pasando como no judíos o lucharon en grupos partisanos. Mientras que otros, debido a los eventos políticos, se vieron desplazados y tuvieron que vivir bajo duras condiciones para sobrevivir. Sólo unos pocos encontraron refugio en los países que los recibieron.
Mientras que "el Holocausto" se refiere específicamente a la persecución sistamática y la aniquilacion de los judíos, también honramos a los no judéos en nuestra comunidad que fueron víctimas de la aggressión nazi.
Los sobrevientes del Holocausto nos inspiran con su fuerza, coraje y perseverancia Son una prueba de lo indómito del espiritu humano.

Commissioned by

to be determined