Bruriah senior Abby Leykin is no stranger to photography and in recent years has become the go-to in-house photographer for the school. Her creativity was put to noble use recently when she entered the Yom Hashoah photo and essay competition from her shul, the Young Israel of Staten Island. Her entry, about the Holocaust Memorial in Miami Beach, Florida took first prize this week. The following is the essay that accompanied her photo montage of the memorial.
“The Holocaust Memorial of Miami Beach started as an idea in 1984, formed by a small group of Holocaust survivors. The committee decided that Miami Beach was the ideal location for a memorial as over 25,000 survivors were residents of the area at the time. There were people who felt building a memorial would be like putting a cemetery in the middle of the city. Others felt it was against separation of church and state. Many people, including busloads of survivors, came together to present a plea to the city. They agreed to remove any religious symbols and only represent those who perished. The city unanimously agreed to allow it to be built.
The location was to span several city blocks long with the address of 1933-1945 Meridian Avenue. Many felt this address was bashert as the numbers match exactly to the years the Nazi regime was at war.
Architect Kenneth Treister was commissioned to design and build the monument. In 1987-1989 blocks of Jerusalem stone were brought in to be the foundation of the monument. The monument was guarded 24 hours to protect what was not yet made permanent.
In 1990 a dedication ceremony was held with Elie Wiesel as the speaker.
He said, “One day, a man or woman will enter this sanctuary of remembrance and wonder: Was it all true? Were the killers really that cruel? And the victims that helpless? That lonely? That abandoned?”
My grandmother, Elaine, who had visited the memorial years earlier and remembered it so vividly, encouraged us to visit this past winter. My family and I were not sure what to expect. It took just one glance for the overwhelming emotion to seep into our hearts and minds. We were there at sunset and the shadows cast from the setting sun made the experience even more special. These photos represent some of the memorial’s beauty and sadness. The yad (hand) seems to reach to the heavens and the bodies that cling to it are symbolic of all six million Jews that were lost. The wall that surrounds the monument, as you can see in the bottom photo, has the names of the lives lost engraved in black granite. Names are added as they are sent to the memorial committee. We left the memorial when it was too dark to see anymore. We left in awe of its beauty and the meaning behind it.”
