NEW YAD VASHEM EXHIBITION OPENS AS ISRAEL MARKS HOLOCAUST REMEMBRANCE DAY

“CHILDREN IN THE HOLOCAUST: STARS WITHOUT A HEAVEN”.

As the Israeli citizens mark Holocaust Remembrance Day on Thursday April 15,  a new exhibition, "Children in the Holocaust: Stars Without a Heaven" opens at Yad Vashem, the national Holocaust Martyrs’ and Heroes’ Remembrance museum, giving expression to the lives of the 1.5 million children who were murdered in the Holocaust, displaying the stories that remained of these children or the stories of the few who survived.

On display are items from Yad Vashem's artifacts, art and archives collections. In addition, art students from the Department of Ceramics and Glass Design of the Bezalel Academy of Art and Design, Jerusalem created works from glass, porcelain and ceramics and students from the Department of Visual Communication Design of the Holon Institute of Technology-HIT created short animated clips, especially for the exhibition. These works were created to help illustrate the personal stories of the children where, due to the wartime circumstances of their childhood, little or no materials remained.

The exhibition is structured around eight major themes: play, study, friendship, Who Am I, work, home, family and rites of passage. As one enters the exhibition, a video installation in the lobby displays the world of children before the Holocaust.  After entering the exhibition space, the subject matter moves on to the Holocaust itself. Exhibition Designer Chanan de Lange, of de Lange Studio, created a symbolic forest with the exhibition materials displayed inside "trees." Each one of these 33 trees contains a central story, with additional stories displayed on digital screens. There are also trees with more general topics such as "children's homes" or "youth movements." Designer Niv Moshe Ben-David created the "Children before the Holocaust," installation and edited the films screened on the trees.

The exhibition, curated by Yehudit Inbar, gives a fascinating look at childhood in the shadow of the Holocaust with the drawings, diaries, poems, music, letters, and toys that are being exhibited. The exhibition will remain open for at least a year.

Yad Vashem, the Holocaust Martyrs’ and Heroes’ Remembrance Authority, was established in 1953. Located in Jerusalem, it is dedicated to Holocaust remembrance, documentation, research and education.
 www.yadvashem.org