Holocaust Memorial Miami Beach was created as a tribute to the six million Jewish victims before and during World War II. Located in Miami Beach, Florida, it allows visitors to experience the unimaginable reality of the Holocaust, providing the community with a place that reflects on and honors this history so that audiences in the present can explore and appreciate what it represents on multiple levels.
A Procession of Visual, Historical and Emotional Experiences
In 1984, a small group of Holocaust survivors joined together to develop a permanent memorial in Miami to the six million Jews who perished at the hands of the Nazis. This site was previously the home of Holocaust survivors who sold the property to the city of Miami Beach in the early 1970s. Although some objected to the installation of such a somber monument, Kenneth Treister was eventually commissioned to create a memorial to the memory of Jewish culture and to individuals whose lives were destroyed by the Holocaust.
Opened in 1990, the memorial was consciously designed to be a large environmental sculpture that is essentially a series of outdoor spaces in which the visitor is led through a procession of visual, historical and emotional experiences. In this way, visitors can experience the reality of the Holocaust on a small level. The more than 100 artistic sculptures that are located throughout Holocaust Memorial Miami Beach actively enable these experiences.
The Sculpture of Love and Anguish that rises 42 feet into the sky is the most prominent of these pieces. The massive bronze hand includes an Auschwitz number on the forearm and numerous human figures strewn about the base. Nearby is the Arbor of History, which is a series of black granite slabs etched with photographs of Holocaust history.
The Memorial Wall documents all of the people whose lives were extinguished in the Holocaust. These names carved into the black granite serve as a monument to their lives, with more names being accommodated as they are submitted. All of these elements have made the memorial a landmark for residents and a place that attracts attention from across the world.
Education, Events and Community
Education is a key element Holocaust Memorial Miami Beach. Groups or classes wishing to visit the Memorial can make reservations no less than two weeks before their planned visit. When a class arrives at the Holocaust Memorial, they will begin by watching a 28-minute film titled Survivor.
Numerous events take place at Holocaust Memorial Miami Beach throughout the year. These events range from rallies to concerts to community gatherings, highlighting the various ways the space has cultivated engagement. As an additional means of engagement, interactive and downloadable apps allow people to experience the memorial in various ways.
Since there has never been an admission charge to visit Holocaust Memorial Miami Beach, individual and collective donations that support the future of the Holocaust Memorial are actively encouraged. The Memorial Store also sells a variety of items that promote education and awareness.
All of these elements have made Holocaust Memorial Miami Beach an essential element of the community that serves as a place of connection on multiple levels. Each year, more than 100,000 people visit what had become a landmark for Miami Beach, highlighting how memorials can connect the past with the present in a way that defines the future for an entire region.
“The Most Powerful Thing”
Visitors have referred to Holocaust Memorial Miami Beach as the most powerful thing they have seen in their life, underscoring the impact that the landmark has made to everyone. Allowing audiences to better understand what the Holocaust meant to the victims while also providing a sense of the generational impact it represents, Holocaust Memorial Miami Beach showcases how memorials can compel engagement through experiences in a way that impacts audiences of all eras.
