The New England Holocaust Memorial: Remembering or Romanticising?

My best friend and I were walking to our dinner reservation in Boston’s Little Italy one evening, when we stumbled upon 6 glass towers that appeared smoky and ominous. My first thought? “No, that can’t possibly be an interpretation of the Holocaust.” Sure enough, the plaque on the wall proved my intuitions to be correct. I turned to my best friend who is half-Jewish, and she was in complete disbelief. We stood there for a few moments in silence, simply observing as people walked from chamber-to-chamber. After seeing her disturbed expression, we walked away in the direction of our reservation. We didn’t have to share any words on it, but to this day I haven’t been able to confirm my feelings toward this site. Was this memorial remembering or romanticizing the horrific events and treatments of the 1940s.

The Holocaust is known to be one of the deadliest and horrific acts of mass murder committed in world history. The brutal genocide of 6 million European Jews at the hand of the Third Reich serves among one of the greatest tragedies of World War II. In Ancient Greek, the term Holocaust means “burnt offering” which can be attributed to the burning of Jewish people in gas chambers. An initiative by the Nazis that started as a mass deportation was converted into a heartless mass murder. European Jews were stripped from their homes and families, forced into packed train cars, and transported to concentration and extermination camps. At these camps, the Jews endured inhumane treatment and horrific living conditions. Most met their fate in the gas chambers where they were burned to their death and disposed of in an attempt to erase Judaism from the Earth. This event left a lasting trauma that continues to provoke conversation in modern society.

The New England Holocaust Memorial was strategically designed to honor various different elements of the Holocaust. There are 6 illuminated glass towers that are filled with a foggy element, replicating the gas of the chambers. The number 6 represents the 6 million Jews that were killed as a result of the Holocaust, the 6 main concentration camps used, and its 6 year duration. Found on the glass chamber walls are numbers representing the tattoos branded on prisoners upon their arrival. These people were identified by numbers rather than names exemplifies the disrespect and inhumane treatment these individuals endured while in the camps. As visitors walk through the exhibit, their skin illuminates with the reflection of the numbers. The experience evokes feelings of being “trapped momentarily in a theater of horror.” Surrounding the exhibit, stumps of the trees that were cleared for the monument remain, standing as another symbol of cruel and unjust murder.

One of the foundational characteristics of a public monument is its ability to be interpreted differently by each of its visitors. Where some may find education and honor, others find discomfort and trauma. When looking at the New England Holocaust Museum through a more positive lens, one can see through attention-grabbing construction and symbols, that it raises awareness of the horrific event. It gives a platform to tell the stories of the victims whose voices were silenced by death. Additionally, the monument contains testimonies from Holocaust survivors describing the conditions and experiences they had at the camps. However, the direct presentation of this memorial brings on a more negative perception from some spectators. To the public eye, this exhibit can seem graphic through the portrayal of gas chambers and claustrophobic elements. Additionally, its placement on a busy street corner leaves little choice for spectators to decide to view the exhibit or not. Some may turn the corner and involuntarily be exposed to the explicit references. This yields complications for parents who must answer their kids’ questions about what they just walked past. After all, how do you tell your child about an extensive, brutal act of mass murder in history?

At the end of the day, it’s almost impossible to create a monument to a historical event without some level of controversial opinions and reactions in its wake. Just as they have in this situation, there will be ongoing debates over whether the memorial is too graphic or not descriptive enough. This plays into the beauty of individual interpretation. While there is no doubt that the Holocaust victims and survivors should be represented, this particular exhibit might not be the most appropriate portrayal for an American city.