Obj. ID: 53378 Holocaust Memorial at the Schara Tzedek Cemetery in New Westminster, BC, Canada, 1987
Name of Monument
BC [British Columbia] Holocaust Memorial
Who/What is Commemorated?
Six Million Jews Murdered in the Holocaust
Description
The monument is cut into a low hillside in the center of the cemetery. It consists of a rectangular low-walled enclosure that culminates in a striking vertical element of two black-like slabs which together resemble tablets of the law. Inscribed on low walls in the front of the memorial are the words "Remember" and "זכור"
To the left of the monument is a rough cut stone pillar that supports a metal tray that carries pebbles that can be taken and placed on the memorial. Such stone containers are common at the entrance to many Jewish cemeteries, but uncommon at memorials.
Within the walls are four ground-level sections framed with gray granite and containing inscribed black granite memorial plaques. The shape of these sections recalls the covering of mass graves found at Holocaust sites in Europe. Two of these sections are set against the insides of the enclosed walls that extend from the hillside. These have inscribed victims' names on the vertical wall surface and on the horizontal surface at ground level. In the center of the enclosure are two larger sections, each with two rows of memorial slabs. These are arranged in rows of six that slant slightly upward to the center to allow greater legibility.
The central vertical "tablets" are set on a circular base inserted into the rear wall of the enclosure. On either side of the protruding circular base, there are small cut-out areas each with a stone bench. In one of these spaces is a small metal plaque indicating the dedication date of the memorial.
The top of the base tilts forward, and the "tablets" are angled against the base's circular edge. There is a Hebrew inscription on the front of the base, and a Yiddish inscription around the perimeter of the base's top surface, carved into the black granite segments. Much of the surface of the base is paved in cobbles, into which are set narrow black granite slabs with the names of sixteen killing sites. Between these and the "tablets" is an inscribed Magen David, set over a light. The spaces between the lines of the star are filled with orange glass, through which the light shines to illuminate the vertical "tablets." About a quarter of the way up each of the "tablets" is a commemorative inscription – in English on the left and Hebrew on the right. Near the tops of the tablets a semicircle is cut out of each, so together they form a broken circle. Suspended within this open space are three bronze doves, shown in flight.
Inscriptions
On front of the monument are inscribed in English and Hebrew with identical inscriptions:
REMEMBER
זכור
On “tablets” in English and Hebrew:
In English:
DEDICATED TO THE SIX MILLION
OF OUR BELOVED PEOPLE
BRUTALLY MURDERED DURING
THE NAZI HOLOCAUST
1933 - 1945
THEY SHALL LIVE IN OUR HEARTS
FOREVER
In Hebrew:
להנצחת ששת מליוני אחינו ואחיותנו
שנרצחו באכזריות על ידי הנאצים ימש
בשנות השואה תרצ''ג - תש''ה
זכרם ישמר בקרבנו לעד
Translation: In commemoration of six million of our brothers and sisters that were brutally murdered by Nazis, may their name be obliterated, in the years of Shoah, 5693 - 5705 [=1933-1945]. Their memory will be inside us infinitely.
On the front of the base, in Hebrew:
על אלה אני בוכיה [Lam.1:16]
Translation: For these things do I weep [Lam.1:16]
On top of the base, list of killing sites:
BUCHENWALD
RAVENSBRUCK
SACHSENHAUSEN
SOBIBOR
TREBLINKA
BELZEC
BERGEN BELSEN
BABI YAR
STUTTHOF
AUSCHWITZ-BIRKENAU
MAUTHAUSEN
GROSS ROSEN
THERESIENSTADT
CHELMNO
MAJDANEK
DACHAU
In Yiddish around the edge of the base:
צום אייביקן אנדענק פאר די זעקס מיליאן הייליקע קדוישים און העלדן דערמארדעט דורך די נאציס אין די יאהרן 1945 – 1933 זיי וועלן לעבן אין אונזערע הערצער אייביק
Translation: In eternal memory of six million holy martyrs and heroes murdered by the Nazis in the years 1933–1945. They shall live in our hearts forever.
THIS MONUMENT WAS DEDICATED
ON
YOM HASHOA APRIL 26, 1987
Commissioned by
Local Holocaust survivors and the Vancouver Holocaust Centre Society (VHCS)
| Schara Tzedek Cemetery 2345 Marine Dr, New Westminster, BC V3M 6R8, Canada
Bronze
Concrete
From the webpage of the Vancouver Holocaust Education Centre (VHEC):
Although the initial vision of a Holocaust memorial began with a small group of survivors in the 1960s, it wasn't until the 1980s that a proposal to build a memorial was formalized.
David Shafran z'l and Robert Krell recruited Jack Kowarsky to chair a committee to build a memorial to honour the memory of loved ones who had perished in the Holocaust. They did this with the support of directors of the Vancouver Holocaust Centre Society (VHCS), with a nearly unanimous vote in favour.
Robert Krell chaired the VHCS and worked with committee members Leon Dales z'l, Mariette Doduck, David Ehrlich, Lili Folk z'l, Rome Fox, Bill Gluck z'l, Paul Heller z'l, Leon Kahn z'l, Freda Kaplan, David Shafran z'l and Robbie Waisman. Leo Lowy z'l and Jack Perel were also involved.
The memorial was unveiled on Yom HaShoah, April 26, 1987, in the presence of 1,300 members of the community. The survivors finally had a "metzeivah" – a burial site – albeit symbolic, to visit and at which to grieve.
...The monument gives the community a physical place to mourn and remember. It was built for, and by, Vancouver's Holocaust survivors but is also intended for future generations, in an effort to ensure the Holocaust is not forgotten.
At the time the monument was built, Leo Lowy z'l and others wanted an annual ceremony to remember the Holocaust and the loved ones who perished. They believed that we should gather on the Sunday between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, a Sunday traditionally observed as a time of the year to remember those who have passed away. The VHEC programs an annual High Holidays cemetery service at the memorial.
"BC Holocaust Memorial," Vancouver Holocaust Education Centre , https://www.vhec.org/stories/holocaust-memorial-schara-tzedeck-cemetary/ (accessed March 13, 2024)