It is
amazing how a simple walk in the park can change your morning. This weekend I visited
a place I am embarrassed to say I didn’t know existed until recently. What is
worse is that I needed a television show to bring it to my attention. Like I
said in my last post, I learn from TV and books equally.
The show,
Mysteries at the Museum, has taught me many things and led to many activities I
have written about on this blog. This is just the latest and perhaps most
meaningful. Sadly however I cannot
seem to find the clip online to share with you.
In the
months since I decided to add this to my ongoing list of places to visit it
somehow slipped my mind during the daily hustle and bustle. I am glad that I
remembered it this weekend as I went through some paperwork. Suddenly it seemed
urgent that I get there so I made the decision to visit there this past Sunday.
To say that it was a powerful experience does not begin to convey the effect
this place had on me.
As a
lifelong resident of Brooklyn I am quite familiar with the area that surrounds
this park. I wonder how many times I drove by without another glance at this
spot. I find it a disgrace and a disservice that no one ever pointed this out
to me nor did I find out within the countless articles I read on a daily basis.
The Holocaust is a topic I frequently research and read up on but here this
quiet spot remained practically in my own backyard waiting for me to notice it.
Notice I did and now it is my job to report about it.
At first
you notice the sign on the corner near the flagstaff that simply says
“Holocaust Memorial Park”. It is on the signature green tablet that every New
York City Park uses to identify itself. But that is where all similarities to
another other park or tribute end.
Officially
dedicated in 1997, by then Mayor Rudy Giuliani, this is the first and only
official N.Y.C. Holocaust memorial. It was many years in the making with
construction beginning in 1994. There was much resistance and debate over how
the markers would be inscribed. I am glad to say that what I saw during my
visit was moving beyond tears and words alike.
It may
take a second to notice it but there is a torch looking structure in the center
of the block. Follow the path along the water and as the memorial is revealed
to you, you will be in awe.
As
reported by the New York Times:
“The
Parks Department architect who designed the memorial -- a 14 1/2-foot steel
tower surrounded by about 40 granite tablets resembling tombstones -- proposed
adding 10 tablets as symbolic markers representing groups the Nazis persecuted,
including homosexuals, Gypsies, Jehovah's Witnesses and Jews.”
There are
numerous, both on the left and on the right of the tower, grave like monuments
with individual purposes and inscriptions. There are meaningful poems and
quotes on some. Others tell the story of a specific person. Some just list a
concentration camp and the atrocities that took place there.
For me
the image of this entire scene bowled me over. I sat on one of the marble
benches that are placed there and just tried to take it all in.
It was a
beautiful morning and the water glistened nearby. There were even swans in the
water. It was like an image out of a cinematographers mind.
On the benches
closer to the street people were reading, talking, or relaxing. I tried to keep
my unexpected utterances to a minimum but it was difficult.
I accidentally took
this photo of my reaction as I returned to the car and stared towards the
memorial. This seemingly hidden gem lies among everyday life with only a select
few knowing the glory within it. I am proud to be part of that group.
The
stones that remain imprinted within my mind are the one for the disabled, “I
Believe”, the list of shoes left behind, and of course, Auschwitz. The last
marker I passed on my way out was one that read “Nuremberg Laws”. A reminder of
how that era ended.
All
totaled approximately six million Jews were killed during the Holocaust
although I suppose a final number would be too hard to construct. That makes it
all the sadder. Seeing the list of countries affected listed in this way shows
you how we are all connected in this world. When my eyes hit upon Holland I was
instantly brought back to my time in Amsterdam walking through the former
Jewish Quarter and seeing the Mirror Memorial, Never Again Auschwitz. The
ground is covered in what seems like frozen water with shards of glass sticking
out. That ground is sacred as there is an urn in the middle with the ashes of
some of the victims of the Holocaust. It is another example of a simple yet
incredible tribute I have seen.
As an
avid traveler and history enthusiast I was sure to visit the United States
Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington D.C. the first time I went back to that
city as an adult in 2010.
Within
the next few weeks I plan to visit the Museum of Jewish Heritage, a Living
Memorial to the Holocaust, right here in New York City.
In order
for such horrors to never happen again we must remember those who lost their
lives and honor their memories.
For me,
this year especially has been full of visiting places with powerful emotional
connections. I seem to attract them now. Each one no matter the context
provides a deeper glimpse into a world that was and a world I now worry we will
return to since this past Election Day.
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