Project Description
FROM THE U.K. HOLOCAUST MEMORIAL INTERNATIONAL DESIGN COMPETITION:
The Memorial communicates a shadow that has been cast forever on the history of civilization. Since there is no redemptive meaning in the Holocaust, visitors carry this shadow with them as they journey underground. A dark, reflective metal plane cuts into the sky. The visitor walks down a wide timber ramp, passing through this plane into the underground. Once inside, the visitor descends into darkness along a continuous trajectory, the path illuminated by light cast from the contents of the exhibitions. Within this darkness, there is a single track – the Path of Hope – which elevates the visitor back into the world, culminating in a platform pier overlooking the Thames. Turning back, the visitor sees the Memorial framed by the context beyond. This memorial is minimal and uncompromising in its message: that to forget the Holocaust is to imperil civilization. Lest one forgets the horror, one will see it repeated.