USHMM Hall of Remembrance
Exterior of The Hall
of Remembrance in the center of the photo
The exterior of the Hall of Remembrance
is shown in the center of the photograph above. The brick building
on the left is the Ross Center; the rear of the Ross building
faces the Capitol Mall. The main part of the museum is set back
from the street, facing an open area called Eisenhower Plaza,
but the hexagon-shaped Hall of Remembrance juts out past the
building of the Bureau of Printing and Engraving on the left.
The 6,000 square-foot Hall of Remembrance
is on the second floor at the end of the tour of the permanent
exhibit. It is a quiet, solemn place like a church where visitors
can breathe a sigh of relief after the unsettling experience
of viewing the horrors of the Nazi regime. The room has 6 sides
which represent the 6 million Jews who were murdered in the Holocaust,
and the 6-pointed Star of David, which is the Jewish emblem.
The Hall is three stories high and there is a 6-sided skylight
at the top.
Interior of Hall of Remembrance
As you enter, the first thing you see
is a rectangular block of black marble, topped by an eternal
flame, as shown in the photo above. There are no real windows
in the room but shafts of light are provided by narrow glass-covered
slits at the four exterior corners of the building, as shown
on the left in the picture. The floor is polished marble in a
hexagonal pattern. The 6 walls of the Hall have black marble
panels engraved with the names of the major concentration camps
in Poland and Germany. The 6 death camps, where the Jews were
gassed, are on a separate panel. On the other side of the hall,
opposite the eternal flame, are two speaker's stands, one on
each side, resembling a pulpit in a church. It is from one of
these stands that the President of the United States delivers
his speech on his annual visit to the Hall on Holocaust Remembrance
Day.
Eternal flame on top of block
holding dirt from 38 Camps
The photograph above shows a closeup
of the black marble block, evocative of a coffin, which contains
dirt from 38 of the concentration camps in Europe. The dirt was
brought to America in urns, like those used by the Nazis for
the ashes of the victims who were cremated, and in a touching
ceremony, the dirt was deposited inside the block by Jewish survivors
of the Holocaust. Dirt from a cemetery in Europe where American
soldiers are buried was also included, in honor of the liberators
of the camps.
The black marble panel on the wall behind
the eternal flame has the inscription: "Only guard yourself
and guard your soul carefully, lest you forget the things your
eyes saw, and lest these things depart your heart all the days
of your life. And you shall make them known to your children
and to your children's children."
Skylight on top of hexagonal
Hall of Remembrance
The Hall of Remembrance is the only part
of the museum where photography is allowed. No flash photography
is permitted, but there is enough light in the room so that flash
is not necessary. There are benches around the room where groups
of students congregate to have a souvenir photograph taken.
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