Yad Vashem

{{Short description|Israel's official memorial to the Jewish victims of the Holocaust}}

{{Infobox museum

| name = Yad Vashem

| native_name = {{Script/Hebrew|יָד וַשֵׁם}}

| native_name_lang =

| logo = Yad Vashem Logo.svg

| logo_upright = 0.75

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| image = Israel-2013(2)-Aerial-Jerusalem-Yad Vashem 01.jpg

| image_size = 280px

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| caption = Aerial view of Yad Vashem

| coordinates = {{Coord|31|46|27|N|35|10|32|E|region:IL_type:landmark|display=inline,title}}

| established = 19 August 1953

| location = On the western slope of Mount Herzl, also known as the Mount of Remembrance, a height in western Jerusalem, Israel

| type = Israel's official memorial to the victims of the Holocaust

| collections =

| collection_size =

| visitors = about 925,000 (2017),{{Citation | year = 2017 | url = https://www.yadvashem.org/pressroom/highlights/2017.html | publisher = Yad vashem | title = Highlights}}. 800,000 (2016 and 2015){{Citation | title = Highlights | url = https://www.yadvashem.org/pressroom/highlights/2016.html | publisher = Yad vashem | year = 2016 }}{{Citation | title = Highlights | url = https://www.yadvashem.org/pressroom/highlights/2015.html | publisher = Yad vashem | year = 2015}}.

| director =

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| architect =

| historian =

| owner =

| publictransit = {{rint|light rail}} Mt Herzl (JLR Red Line)

| car_park =

| parking =

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| website = {{official URL}}

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Yad Vashem ({{langx|he|יָד וַשֵׁם}}; {{lit|a memorial and a name}}) is Israel's official memorial to the victims of the Holocaust. It is dedicated to preserving the memory of the Jews who were murdered; echoing the stories of the survivors; honoring Jews who fought against their Nazi oppressors and gentiles who selflessly aided Jews in need; and researching the phenomenon of the Holocaust in particular and genocide in general, with the aim of avoiding such events in the future.{{cite web |url=https://www.yadvashem.org/about/yad-vashem.html |title=What Is Yad Vashem |website=yadvashem.org |access-date=2 December 2021 }} Yad Vashem's vision, as stated on its website, is: "To lead the documentation, research, education and commemoration of the Holocaust, and to convey the chronicles of this singular Jewish and human event to every person in Israel, to the Jewish people, and to every significant and relevant audience worldwide."[https://www.yadvashem.org/about/mission-statement.html Vision and Mission of Yad Vashem], Yad Vashem website

Established in 1953, Yad Vashem is located on the Mount of Remembrance, on the western slope of Mount Herzl, a height in western Jerusalem, {{convert|804|m|ft|0|sp=us}} above sea level and adjacent to the Jerusalem Forest. The memorial consists of a {{convert |180|dunam|ha acre|adj=on|sigfig= 3}} complex containing two types of facilities: some dedicated to the scientific study of the Holocaust, and memorials and museums catering to the needs of the larger public. Among the former there are an International Research Institute for Holocaust Research, an archives, a library, a publishing house and the International School for Holocaust Studies; the latter include the Holocaust History Museum, memorial sites such as the Children's Memorial and the Hall of Remembrance, the Museum of Holocaust Art, sculptures, outdoor commemorative sites such as the Valley of the Communities, as well as a synagogue.

A core goal of Yad Vashem's founders was to recognize non-Jews who, at personal risk and without financial or evangelistic motives, chose to save Jews from the ongoing genocide during the Holocaust. Those recognized by Israel as Righteous Among the Nations are honored in a section of Yad Vashem known as the Garden of the Righteous Among the Nations.

Yad Vashem is the second-most-visited Israeli tourist site, after the Western Wall, with approximately one million visitors each year. It charges no admission fee.

Etymology

The name "Yad Vashem" is taken from a verse in the Book of Isaiah (56:5):

"[To] them will I give in my house and within my walls a [memorial] and a [name], better than sons and daughters; I will give them an everlasting [name], that shall not be cut off [from memory]."

{{cite book |title=The Holy Scriptures: A New Translation |date=1917 |publisher=Jewish Publication Society |url=https://www.sefaria.org/Isaiah.56.5?ven=The_Holy_Scriptures:_A_New_Translation_(JPS_1917)&lang=bi.}}Emendations based on Ibn Ezra and Metzudat David, as quoted by sefaria.org, and on modern usage, c.f. Kennedy Memorial יָד קֶנַדִי. {{langx|he|וְנָתַתִּי לָהֶם בְּבֵיתִי וּבְחוֹמֹתַי יָד וָשֵׁם, טוֹב מִבָּנִים וּמִבָּנוֹת; שֵׁם עוֹלָם אֶתֶּן לוֹ, אֲשֶׁר לֹא יִכָּרֵת.}}). Naming the Holocaust memorial "yad vashem" ({{langx|he|יָד וָשֵׁם}}, yād wā-šêm, literally "a memorial and a name") conveys the idea of establishing a national depository for the names of Jewish victims who have no one to carry their name after death. The original verse referred to eunuchs who, although they could not have children, could still live for eternity with the Lord.{{cite book |last=Margalit |first=Avishai |title=The Ethics of Memory |publisher=Harvard University Press |year=2002 |url={{Google books |plainurl=yes |id=HHG5mRuVXN4C |page=22 }} |access-date=25 February 2014}}

History

File:ISR-2015-Jerusalem-Yad Vashem-Wagon monument 01.jpg) monument in memory of those deported by rail]]

The desire to establish a memorial in the historical Jewish homeland for Jewish victims of the Nazi Holocaust originated during World War II, in response to emerging accounts of the mass murder of Jews in Nazi-occupied countries. Yad Vashem was first proposed in September 1942, at a board meeting of the Jewish National Fund, by Mordecai Shenhavi, a member of Kibbutz Mishmar Ha'emek. In August 1945, the plan was discussed in greater detail at a Zionist meeting in London. A provisional board of Zionist leaders was established that included David Remez as chairman, Shlomo Zalman Shragai, Baruch Zuckerman, and Shenhavi. In February 1946, Yad Vashem opened an office in Jerusalem and a branch office in Tel Aviv, and in June that year convened its first plenary session. In July 1947, the First Conference on Holocaust Research was held at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. However, the outbreak of the 1947–1949 Palestine war brought operations to a standstill for two years.

On 19 August 1953, the Knesset, Israel's Parliament, unanimously passed the Yad Vashem Law, establishing the Holocaust Martyrs' and Heroes' Remembrance Authority, the aim of which was "the commemoration in the Homeland of all those members of the Jewish people who gave their lives, or rose up and fought the Nazi enemy and its collaborators," and to set up "a memorial to them, and to the communities, organizations and institutions that were destroyed because they belonged to the Jewish people."{{cite book|last1=Gilbert|first1=Martin |author-link1= Martin Gilbert|title=Israel: A History |date= 2008|publisher= Harper Perennial |location= New York |isbn= 978-0-68812363-5|page=288|edition= rev. & upd.}}

File:YadVashem Valley of the Communities 002.jpg

On 29 July 1954, the cornerstone for the Yad Vashem building was laid on a hill in western Jerusalem, to be known as the Mount of Remembrance ({{langx|he|Har HaZikaron}}); the organization had already begun projects to collect the names of individuals killed in the Holocaust; acquire Holocaust documentation and personal testimonies of survivors for the Archives and Library; and develop research and publications. The memorial and museum opened to the public in 1957.{{cite journal |last1= Silberklang|first1=David|author-link=David Silberklang|title=More Than a Memorial: The Evolution of Yad Vashem |journal= Yad Vashem Quarterly Magazine | issue = Special Commemorative ed |date=Fall 2003 |pages=6–7|publisher=Yad Vashem |location= Jerusalem, IL |url= https://www.yadvashem.org/sites/default/files/yv_magazine31.pdf}}{{cite book |last1= Naor|first1=Mordechai|title= The Twentieth Century in Eretz Israel|date=1998|publisher= Konenmann Verlagsgesellschaft |location= Cologne, DE |isbn= 978-3-89508595-6|pages=317–18 |translator-last= Krausz |translator-first=Judith | chapter = 1954}}

The location of Yad Vashem on the western side of Mount Herzl – an area devoid of weighty historical associations, distinct from the Chamber of the Holocaust, founded in 1948 on Mount Zion{{cite book|title=On Memory: An Interdisciplinary Approach |url= {{Google books |plainurl= yes |id= zBE_q09a5mgC |page= 43}} |first= Arye |last= Edrei|chapter=Holocaust Memorial|editor= Doron Mendels |page=43|isbn=978-3-03911-064-3 |date= 7 June 2007|publisher= Peter Lang }}{{cite journal|journal= Shiur Times |date=6 May 2008|pages=36–37 |url= https://issuu.com/shiurtimes/docs/may2008 |first= Yehudit |last= Singer|title=60 Years of Commemorating the Holocaust}} – was chosen because it was far from the Jerusalem city center, and the founders of the memorial site did not want to erect a grim, sorrowful memorial, amidst population concentration. The conceptual connection of "From Holocaust to Rebirth" was made only with hindsight: Only in 2003 the Connecting Path between Yad Vashem and the National Cemetery in Mount Herzl was created and paved.Jackie Feldman, [https://www.academia.edu/2312409/Between_Yad_Vashem_and_Mt_Herzl_Changing_Inscriptions_of_Sacrifice_on_Jerusalems_Mountain_of_Memory "Between Yad Vashem and Mt. Herzl: Changing Inscriptions of Sacrifice on Jerusalem’s 'Mountain of Memory'"], in Anthropological Quarterly, p. 1155. The Connecting Path is called in the article "The Linking Path".{{Cite web|url=http://mosheoren.com/en/content/257|title=The Linking Trail | Moshe Oren|website=mosheoren.com}} The "Valley of the Communities" monument at Yad Vashem commemorates over 5,000 Jewish communities destroyed or damaged during the Holocaust, the names of which are engraved on its towering walls. The position of Yad Vashem is that the Holocaust is incomparable to any other calamity previously inflicted on the Jewish people, and therefore the Holocaust cannot be regarded as a continuation of the death and destruction that plagued Jewish communities over the centuries, but rather as a unique phase in history, an unprecedented endeavor to totally annihilate the Jewish people.[https://www.yadvashem.org/holocaust/faqs.html FAQs. The Holocaust Resource Center] – Question 2{{cite book |url= {{Google books |plainurl= yes |id=fG8WAQAAIAAJ }} |title=A guide to Jewish genealogical research in Israel |page= 67 |first= Sallyann |last= Amdur Sack | author-link = Sallyann Amdur Sack |year=1995 |publisher=Avotaynu |isbn= 0-96263737-8}}{{cite book |url={{Google books |plainurl= yes |id=TRc9ea_CKOUC |page=371 }} |title= Israel and the Palestinian Territories: The Rough Guide |page= 371 |first1=Daniel |last1= Jacobs |first2= Shirley |last2= Eber |first3=Francesca |last3= Silvani |year= 1998 |publisher=Rough Guides |isbn=1-85828248-9}}{{cite book |url= {{Google books |plainurl=yes |id=FOckAQAAMAAJ |page= 99}} |page= 99 |title=The Holocaust in Israeli Public Debate in the 1950s: Ideology and memory |year=2007 |publisher= Vallentine Mitchell |first=Roni |last=Stauber |isbn= 978-0-85303723-1}}

In 1982, Yad Vashem sponsored the International Conference on Holocaust and Genocide, which included six presentations on the Armenian genocide. It later withdrew from the conference after threats by the Turkish government that Jewish lives would be put in danger if the conference went ahead.{{cite book|last=Auron|first=Yair|author-link=Yair Auron|title=The Banality of Denial: Israel and the Armenian Genocide|publisher= Rutgers University Press|date= 2003|isbn=0-7658-0834-X|chapter=The Israeli Academy and the Armenian Genocide|pages=217–225}}{{cite book |last1=Baer |first1=Marc D. |author1-link=Marc David Baer |title=Sultanic Saviors and Tolerant Turks: Writing Ottoman Jewish History, Denying the Armenian Genocide |date=2020 |publisher=Indiana University Press |isbn=978-0-253-04542-3 |language=en|pages=126–127}}{{cite journal |last1=Ben Aharon |first1=Eldad |title=A Unique Denial: Israel's Foreign Policy and the Armenian Genocide |journal=British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies |date=2015 |volume=42 |issue=4 |pages=638–654 |doi=10.1080/13530194.2015.1043514|s2cid=218602513 |issn=1353-0194}}

On 15 March 2005, a new Museum complex four times larger than the old one opened at Yad Vashem.[https://www.yadvashem.org/press-release/15-march-2005-12-04.html The new Holocaust History Museum at Yad Vashem – FACTS & FIGURES], Yad Vashem press releases, 15 March 2005 It included the Holocaust History Museum with a new Hall of Names, a Museum of Holocaust Art, an Exhibitions Pavilion, a Learning Center and a Visual Center.{{cite news |title= New Holocaust Museum Opens in Jerusalem |url= https://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/15/international/middleeast/new-holocaus-holocaust-museum-opens-in-jerusalem.html |access-date=15 January 2018 |work= The New York Times|date= 15 March 2005}}{{cite web |title= The new Holocaust History Museum at Yad Vashem – Facts & Figures|url= http://www.yadvashem.org/press-release/15-march-2005-12-04.html |publisher=Yad Vashem | type = press release |date= 15 March 2005}} The new Yad Vashem museum was designed by Israeli-Canadian architect Moshe Safdie, replacing the previous 30-year-old exhibition.{{cite web| first = Etgar | last = Lefkovits |url= http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P1-109780569.html |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20130525225645/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P1-109780569.html |url-status=dead |archive-date= 25 May 2013 |title= Jerusalem: Yad Vashem |publisher= Forward |access-date= 25 February 2014}} It was the culmination of a $100 million decade-long expansion project.{{cite web |last= Ser |first= Sam |title=New Yad Vashem museum to emphasize 'human story' |publisher=Jerusalem Post|url= http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P1-105361590.html |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20130525211753/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P1-105361590.html |url-status=dead |archive-date= 25 May 2013 |access-date= 25 February 2014}}

Administration

In November 2008, Rabbi Yisrael Meir Lau was appointed chairman of Yad Vashem's council, replacing Tommy Lapid.{{cite web|url=http://www.yadvashem.org/press-release/09-november-2008-09-30.html |title=Rabbi Israel Meir Lau Appointed Chairman of the Yad Vashem Council |publisher=.yadvashem.org |access-date=21 July 2012}} The vice chairman of the council is Moshe Kantor.[https://www.yadvashem.org/donors/moshe-kantor.html Moshe Kantor] on Yad Vashem website Yitzhak Arad was vice chairman until his death on May 6, 2021.[https://www.yadvashem.org/press-release/06-may-2021-11-57.html Yad Vashem Mourns the Passing of Renowned Holocaust Survivor, Historian and Former Yad Vashem Chairman, Dr. Yitzhak Arad (1926-2021)], on Yad Vashem website Elie Wiesel was vice chairman of the council until his death on 2 July 2016.[https://www.yadvashem.org/press-release/03-july-2016-12-04.html Yad Vashem mourns the loss of a dear friend and colleague, Holocaust survivor Professor Elie Wiesel], on Yad Vashem website

Yitzhak Arad served as the chairman of the directorate from 1972 to 1993. He was succeeded by Avner Shalev, who served as chairman until February 2021.{{cite web | title=Three Decades Dedicated to Shoah Commemoration | website=yadvashem.org | date=22 August 2021 | url=https://www.yadvashem.org/events/09-march-2021.html | access-date=23 August 2021}} Shalev was succeeded as chairman by Dani Dayan in August 2021.{{cite web | title=Vowing to reject Holocaust 'distortion,' Dani Dayan appointed head of Yad Vashem | website=The Times of Israel | date=22 August 2021 | url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/vowing-to-reject-holocaust-distortion-dani-dayan-appointed-head-of-yad-vashem/ | access-date=23 August 2021}}

The members of the Yad Vashem directorate are Yossi Ahimeir, Daniel Atar, Michal Cohen, Avraham Duvdevani, Boleslaw (Bolek) Goldman, Vera H. Golovensky, Shlomit Kasirer, Yossi Katribas, Yehiel Leket, Dalit Stauber, Zehava Tanne, Shoshana Weinshall, and Dudi Zilbershlag.[https://www.yadvashem.org/sites/default/files/yv_magazine80_1.pdf Yad Vashem Magazine. Volume 80]. June 2016 Former deceased members were Matityahu Drobles, Moshe Ha-Elion and Baruch Shub.

The CEO is Tzvika Fayirizen.[https://www.yadvashem.org/press-release/21-october-2021-11-36.html Tzvika Fayirizen Appointed as Director General of Yad Vashem], Yad Vashem website, 21 October 2021 The Director of the International Institute for Holocaust Research is Iael Nidam-Orvieto.[https://www.yadvashem.org/research/about/nidam-orvieto.html About Dr. Iael Nidam-Orvieto], Yad Vashem website The chair for Holocaust studies is Dan Michman. and Prof. Dina Porat is Senior Academic Advisor.[https://www.yadvashem.org/author/dina-porat.html Professor Dina Porat] on Yad Vashem website She also served as Chief Historian between the years 2011-2022. Prior to that Prof. Yehuda Bauer[https://www.yadvashem.org/articles/interviews/baruch-bauer.html Professor Yehuda Bauer] had that position.

Objectives

File:Eternal Flame and Concentration Camp Victims Memorial.jpg]]

The aims of Yad Vashem are education, research and documentation, and commemoration.{{cite web|url=https://www.yadvashem.org/education.html |title=The International School for Holocaust Studies |publisher=.yadvashem.org |access-date=24 April 2012}} Yad Vashem organizes professional development courses for educators both in Israel and throughout the world; develops age-appropriate study programs, curricula, and educational materials for Israeli and foreign schools in order to teach students of all ages about the Holocaust; holds exhibitions about the Holocaust; collects the names of Holocaust victims;[http://www.yadvashem.org/archive/hall-of-names.html About: The Central Database of Shoah Victims Names] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171218090828/http://www.yadvashem.org/archive/hall-of-names.html |date=18 December 2017 }} collects photos, documents, and personal artifacts; and collects Pages of Testimony memorializing victims of the Holocaust.[https://yvng.yadvashem.org/ The Central Database of Shoah Victims' Names], on Yad Vashem website Yad Vashem seeks to preserve the memory and names of the six million Jews murdered during the Holocaust, and the numerous Jewish communities destroyed during that time. It holds ceremonies of remembrance and commemoration; supports Holocaust research projects; develops and coordinates symposia, workshops, and international conferences; and publishes research, memoirs, documents, albums, and diaries related to the Holocaust.{{cite book |url={{Google books |plainurl=yes |id=EUzcIZklD3oC |page=7 }} |title=Our Memory of the Past and for the Future: Based on the Proceedings of an International Forum in Jerusalem, Israel, 15–21 September 2003 |publisher=Council of Europe |year=2005 |access-date=25 February 2014}} Yad Vashem also honors non-Jews who risked their lives to save Jews during the Holocaust.

The International Institute for Holocaust Studies at Yad Vashem, founded in 1993, offers guides and seminars for students, teachers, and educators, and develops pedagogic tools for use in the classroom. Yad Vashem trains thousands of domestic and foreign teachers every year.[https://www.yadvashem.org/education/seminars.html International Seminars at Yad Vashem][https://www.yadvashem.org/education/about-school.html About the International School for Holocaust Studies]{{cite news|url=https://www.economist.com/news/international/21584008-study-holocaust-expanding-worldwidefor-differing-reasons-bearing-witness-ever |title=Remembering the Holocaust: Bearing witness ever more |publisher=Economist.com |date=24 August 2013 |access-date=25 February 2014}}

Yad Vashem operates a web site in several languages, including English,[https://www.yadvashem.org/ Yad Vashem website] in English German,[https://www.yadvashem.org/de.html Yad Vashem website in German] Hebrew,[https://www.yadvashem.org/he.html Yad Vashem website in Hebrew] Persian,[https://www.yadvashem.org/yv/fa/index.asp Yad Vashem website in Persian] French,[https://www.yadvashem.org/fr.html Yad Vashem website in French] Russian,[https://www.yadvashem.org/ru.html Yad Vashem website in Russian] Spanish[https://www.yadvashem.org/es.html Yad Vashem website in Spanish] and Arabic.[https://www.yadvashem.org/ar.html Yad Vashem website in Arabic] In 2013 Yad Vashem launched an online campaign in Arabic, promoting Yad Vashem's website. The campaign reached over 2.4 million Arabic speakers from around the globe, and the traffic to Yad Vashem's website was tripled.{{cite web|author= Ofer Aderet |url=http://www.haaretz.com/news/features/.premium-1.573513 |title=Yad Vashem finds Muslim clicks on Facebook |publisher=haaretz.com |date=11 February 2014 |access-date=21 September 2014}}

The institution's policy is that the Holocaust "cannot be compared to any other event". In 2009 Yad Vashem fired a docent for comparing the trauma Jews suffered in the Holocaust to the trauma Palestinians suffered during 1947–1949 Palestine war, including the Deir Yassin massacre.Yoav Stern. "Yad Vashem fires employee who compared Holocaust to Nakba". Haaretz, 23 April 2009. {{cite news|url=http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/yad-vashem-fires-employee-who-compared-holocaust-to-nakba-1.274624 |title=Yad Vashem Fires Employee Who Compared Holocaust to Nakba |newspaper=Haaretz |access-date=28 December 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150729005750/http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/yad-vashem-fires-employee-who-compared-holocaust-to-nakba-1.274624 |archive-date=29 July 2015 }}

=''Yad Vashem Studies''=

Yad Vashem Studies is a peer-reviewed semi-annual scholarly journal on the Holocaust. Published since 1957, it appears in both English and Hebrew editions.{{cite web |url=http://www.yadvashem.org/research/about/studies |title=Yad Vashem Studies |publisher=The International Institute for Holocaust Research |access-date=23 February 2017}}

Museum

File:YadVashemMar042023 01.jpg

File:Yad Vashem entrance.jpg

File:ExteriorHolocaustHistoryMuseumYadVashemMar112023 08.jpg

Yad Vashem building on the Mount of Remembrance was inaugurated in 1957. Its first exhibits, opened on 1958, focused on documentation of the Holocaust. The second exhibition, opened in 1959, presented paintings from the Holocaust Ghettos and camps.Bella Gutterman, [https://store.yadvashem.org/he/%D7%95%D7%A0%D7%AA%D7%AA%D7%99-%D7%9C%D7%94%D7%9D-%D7%99%D7%93-%D7%95%D7%A9%D7%9D-16 Yad Vashem: 60 years of remembrance, documentation, research, and education] - the chapter regarding the 1950s, p. 93 (Yad Vashem, 2013, in Hebrew){{cite news|author=Chris McGreal |url=https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2005/mar/15/heritage.israelandthepalestinians |title='This is ours and ours alone' |newspaper=Guardian |date=15 March 2005 |access-date=25 February 2014}}

In 1993, planning began for a larger, more technologically advanced museum to replace the old one. The new building, designed by Canadian-Israeli architect Moshe Safdie, consists of a long corridor connected to 10 exhibition halls, each dedicated to a different chapter of the Holocaust. The museum combines the personal stories of 90 Holocaust victims and survivors and presents approximately 2,500 personal items including artwork and letters donated by survivors and others. The old historical displays revolving around anti-Semitism and the rise of Nazism have been replaced by exhibits that focus on the personal stories of Jews killed in the Holocaust. According to Avner Shalev, the museum's curator and chairman, a visit to the new museum revolves around "looking into the eyes of the individuals. There weren't six million victims, there were six million individual murders."

The new museum was dedicated on 15 March 2005 in the presence of leaders from 40 states and then Secretary General of the UN Kofi Annan. President of Israel Moshe Katzav said that Yad Vashem serves as "an important signpost to all of humankind, a signpost that warns how short the distance is between hatred and murder, between racism and genocide".Kofi Annan commented at the opening, "The number of Holocaust survivors who are still with us is dwindling fast. Our children are growing up just as rapidly. They are beginning to ask their first questions about injustice. What will we tell them? Will we say, 'That's just the way the world is'? Or will we say instead, 'We are trying to change things—to find a better way'? Let this museum stand as a testimony that we are striving for a better way. Let Yad Vashem inspire us to keep striving, as long as the darkest dark stalks the face of the earth." [http://www.c4israel.org/au/articles/Spring2005/5765_C4INZ-W05-FINAL.pdf Facing the Consequences of Dividing Israel] {{webarchive |url= https://web.archive.org/web/20060506215127/http://www.c4israel.org/au/articles/Spring2005/5765_C4INZ-W05-FINAL.pdf |date=6 May 2006 }}

In April 2019, Yad Vashem started a new collection center to house and conserve millions of artifacts from the Holocaust.[https://www.yadvashem.org/heritagecampus/index.asp About the new collection center], Yad Vashem website{{Cite web|url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/yad-vashem-to-break-ground-on-new-artifacts-center-on-holocaust-remembrance-day/|title=Yad Vashem to break ground on new artifacts center on Holocaust Remembrance Day|last=Amanda Borschel-Dan|website=www.timesofisrael.com|language=en-US|access-date=27 March 2019}}

Architecture

File:Israel-2013(2)-Jerusalem-Yad Vashem-Prism Skylight 01.jpg

The first architect involved in the design of Yad Vashem was Munio Weinraub, who worked on the project from 1943 till the 1960s, together with his architectural partner Al Mansfield. He was approached for this purpose by Mordechai Shenhavi, the initiator and first director of the institution. Weinraub's plans were not realised as a whole, but some of his ideas are visible in Yad Vashem today.{{cite news |author= Esther Zandberg |title= Holocaust Memorial Yad Vashem Was Already Being Planned in 1942 |date= 31 January 2014 |newspaper= Haaretz |url= https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/culture/.premium-plan-for-yad-vashem-already-drafted-1942-1.5317288 |access-date=20 December 2019}}

The new Holocaust History Museum, designed by Moshe Safdie, is shaped like a triangular concrete prism that cuts through the landscape, illuminated by a {{convert|200|m|ft|0|sp=us|adj=mid|-long}} skylight. Visitors follow a preset route that takes them through underground galleries that branch off from the main hall. Safdie is also the architect behind the Children's Memorial and the Deportees (cattle-car) Memorial.

The gates are the work of the sculptor David Palombo (1920–1966).

Hall of Names

File:Hall of Names.jpg]]

The Hall of Names is a memorial to the six million Jews who were murdered in the Holocaust. The main hall is composed of two cones: one ten meters high, with a reciprocal well-like cone excavated into the underground rock, its base filled with water. On the upper cone is a display featuring 600 photographs of Holocaust victims and fragments of Pages of Testimony. These are reflected in the water at the bottom of the lower cone, commemorating those victims whose names remain unknown. Surrounding the platform is the circular repository, housing the approximately 2.7 million Pages of Testimony collected to date,[https://www.yadvashem.org/archive/hall-of-names/pages-of-testimony.html What are Pages of Testimony], on Yad Vashem website with empty spaces for those yet to be submitted.

Since the 1950s, Yad Vashem has collected approximately 110,000 audio, video, and written testimonies by Holocaust survivors. As the survivors age, the program has expanded to visiting survivors in their homes, to tape interviews. Adjoining the hall is a study area with a computerized data bank where visitors can do online searches for the names of Holocaust victims.

Righteous Among the Nations

File:Holy Land Pilgrimage 2017 P090 Yad Vashem Irena Sendlerowa Tree.jpg (Polish social worker who smuggled more than 2,500 Jewish children out of the Warsaw Ghetto){{Citation |last=United States Holocaust Memorial Museum |title=Irena Sendler (1910–2008)}}]]

File:Yad Vashem BW 2.JPG and the children, memorial]]

File:PikiWiki Israel 12503 childrens memorial at yad vashem.jpg

One of Yad Vashem's tasks is to honor non-Jews who risked their lives, liberty, or positions to save Jews during the Holocaust. To this end, a special independent commission, headed by a retired Supreme Court justice, was established. The commission members, including historians, public figures, lawyers, and Holocaust survivors, examine and evaluate each case according to a well-defined set of criteria and regulations. The Righteous receive a certificate of honor and a medal, and their names are commemorated in the Garden of the Righteous Among the Nations,{{cite web |url=http://www.gariwo.net/eng_new/foreste/yadvashem.php |title=Gardens of the Righteous Worldwide – The Yad Vashem Garden of the Righteous |publisher=Gariwo |access-date=24 July 2012 |archive-date=10 March 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120310080431/http://gariwo.net/eng_new/foreste/yadvashem.php |url-status=dead }} on the Mount of Remembrance, Yad Vashem. This is an ongoing project that will continue for as long as there are valid requests, substantiated by testimonies or documentation. Five hundred and fifty-five individuals were recognized during 2011, and {{As of|2021|lc=y}}, more than 27,921 individuals have been recognized as Righteous Among the Nations.{{cite web |url=https://www.yadvashem.org/righteous/statistics.html |title=Names of Righteous by Country |website=Yad Vashem |date=1 January 2021 |access-date=27 January 2022}}

Yad Vashem's declared policy is not to provide meaningful recognition, even in a possible new category, to Jews who rescued Jews, regardless of the number of people their activism saved. The stated reason is that Jews had an obligation to save fellow Jews and do not deserve recognition.https://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Op-Ed-Contributors/Why-wont-Yad-Vashem-honor-Jewish-rescuers – by Dr. Mordecai Paldiel who directed the Yad Vashem Righteous department for decadeshttps://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Yad-Vashem-and-Jewish-rescuers-of-Jews-472621 – by Dr. Mordecai Paldiel

Controversies

= Ładoś Group =

In April 2019 the Yad Vashem granted the title of Righteous Among the Nations to Konstanty Rokicki and offered "appreciation" to Aleksander Ładoś and Stefan Ryniewicz arguing that Rokicki headed the Ładoś Group. The document erroneously called Ładoś and Ryniewicz "consuls".{{cite web |last1=Brazer |first1=Jenni |title=Poland's wartime consul named Righteous Among Nations for role in saving Jews |url=https://jewishnews.timesofisrael.com/polands-wartime-consul-named-righteous-among-nations-for-role-in-saving-jews/ |access-date=3 June 2019 |website=jewishnews.timesofisrael.com|date=26 April 2019 }} The decision sparked outrage and frustration among the family members of the two other late Polish diplomats, and among survivors.{{cite web |last1=Beck |first1=Eldad |title=After Yad Vashem honors Rokicki, fight over Bernese Group continues |url=https://www.israelhayom.com/2019/04/30/after-yad-vashem-honors-rokicki-fight-over-bernese-group-continues/ |access-date=3 June 2019 |website=israelhayom.com}}{{Cite news |last=Beck |first=Eldad |date=16 November 2021 |title=Is Yad Vashem transforming Holocaust memory into political activism? |work=Israel Hayom |url=https://www.israelhayom.com/2021/11/16/is-yad-vashem-transforming-holocaust-memory-into-political-activism/}} Thirty one of them signed an open letter to Yad Vashem.{{cite web |title=Holocaust survivors appeal to decorate 'all Ładoś Group members' |url=https://polandin.com/42916166/holocaust-survivors-appeal-to-decorate-all-lados-group-members |access-date=3 June 2019 |website=polandin.com}} Rokicki's cousin refused to accept the medal until two other Polish diplomats, Rokicki's superior are recognized as Righteous Among The Nations, too. Polish Ambassador to Switzerland Jakub Kumoch who contributed to the discovery of Rokicki also refuted the Yad Vashem's interpretation stating that Rokicki worked under Ładoś and Ryniewicz.{{cite web |last1=Kumoch |first1=Jakub |title=The Polish Holocaust hero you've never heard of |url=https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/a-polish-holocaust-hero-you-havent-heard-of/ |access-date=3 June 2019 |website=timesofisrael.com}} Eldad Beck of Israel Hayom suggested that this decision was politically inspired and related to the worsening of Israel-Poland relations due to the controversy over the Amendment to the Act on the Institute of National Remembrance.

=Political interference and leadership=

In 2018, Yad Vashem chief historian Dina Porat participated in developing a compromise agreement between the Israeli and Polish governments about Poland’s record during the Holocaust, and moderating a Polish law criminalizing any assertion of any Polish complicity in the Holocaust or other Nazi crimes. By agreement between the Israeli and Polish governments, the law was reworded to acknowledge some Polish misconduct, in exchange for a joint declaration by Polish government and Israeli Knesset that many Poles committed "heroic" efforts "to save Jewish people." However, the museum, itself, argued the declaration "contains highly problematic wording that contradicts existing and accepted historical knowledge in this field," and harshly disparaged the deal, saying the agreement would stifle free research about the subject.[https://www.timesofisrael.com/yad-vashem-holocaust-memorial-chairman-resigns-after-27-years/ "Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial chairman resigns after 27 years: Avner Shalev, 81, informs Netanyahu of his decision, but does not name a successor to take over national remembrance institute"] June 21, 2020, Times of Israel, retrieved January 29, 2025

In February 2020, Yad Vashem apologized for “inaccuracies” and “partial” facts that had been presented in Jerusalem at the previous month’s World Holocaust Forum (attended by Russian president Vladimir Putin and other world leaders). The criticism alleged the program excessively emphasized Russia’s role in ending World War II, and suppressed information unpalatable to Russia's government.[https://www.timesofisrael.com/yad-vashem-apologizes-for-distortions-favoring-russia-at-holocaust-forum/ "Yad Vashem apologizes for distortions favoring Russia at Holocaust forum: Museum tells newspaper it allowed an unbalanced representation of events during World War II, clarifies that videos shown at ceremony last month do not represent its own position"] February 3, 2020, Times of Israel, retrieved January 29, 2025

In 2020 plans to appoint Effi Eitam to head the institutions have been criticized, due to alleged racist remarks made by the appointee.{{Cite web |author=ToI Staff |title=Amid leadership controversy, Yad Vashem appoints Ronen Plot as acting chairman |url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/amid-leadership-controversy-yad-vashem-appoints-ronen-plot-as-acting-chairman/ |access-date=2023-09-08 |website=www.timesofisrael.com |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |last=Liphshiz |first=Cnaan |title=Normally reticent Auschwitz museum director wades into Yad Vashem controversy |url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/normally-reticent-auschwitz-museum-director-wades-into-yad-vashem-controversy/ |access-date=2023-09-08 |website=www.timesofisrael.com |language=en-US}}

In summer 2023, a number of scholars, politicians and media figures have criticized Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Education Minister Yoav Kisch for an attempt to remove Yad Vashem Chairman Dani Dayan from his position, noting that this reduces the independence and hence, credibility, of the institution.{{Cite news |last=Eichner |first=Itamar |date=2023-09-03 |title=Researchers of the Holocaust slam move to oust Yad Vashem chair |language=en |work=Ynetnews |url=https://www.ynetnews.com/article/byjd2o1102 |access-date=2023-09-08}}{{Cite web |title=Israel tries to oust Yad Vashem head under Sara Netanyahu's influence |url=https://www.jpost.com/diaspora/article-757105 |access-date=2023-09-08 |website=The Jerusalem Post {{!}} JPost.com |date=31 August 2023 |language=en-US}}

Art gallery

Yad Vashem houses the world's largest collection of artwork produced by Jews and other victims of Nazi occupation in 1933–1945. The Yad Vashem Art Department supervises a 10,000-piece collection, adding 300 pieces a year, most of them donated by survivors' families or discovered in attics.{{cite web|date=26 December 2010|first=Edmund |last=Sanders |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2010-dec-26-la-ca-culture-exchange-20101226-story.html |title=Holocaust art endures at Israel's Yad Vashem museum |publisher=Articles.latimes.com |access-date=25 February 2014}} Included in the collection are works by Alexander Bogen, Alice Lok Cahana, Samuel Bak, and Felix Nussbaum.

Monuments at Yad Vashem

The monument to the heroes of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising by Nathan Rapoport, a version of the 1948 Monument to the Ghetto Heroes from Warsaw.
Janusz Korczak and the Children, memorial to the educator and the children he refused to leave
Memorial to the Jewish children murdered in the Holocaust
The Memorial to the Deportees, aka "train monument", in memory of the Jews taken to the extermination camps by cattle cars
Valley of the (Destroyed) Communities, in memory of the Jewish communities of Europe which ceased to exist after the Holocaust

{{anchor|Prizes by Yad Vashem}} Prizes awarded by Yad Vashem

Yad Vashem awards the following book prizes:

Yad Vashem Prize for Children's Holocaust Literature
Yad Vashem International Book Prize for Holocaust Research, established in 2011 in memory of Abraham Meir Schwartzbaum, Holocaust survivor, and his family who was murdered in the Holocaust.[https://www.yadvashem.org/friends/recent-events-and-visits/2014-international-book-prize-for-holocaust-research.html Yad Vashem International Book Prize for Holocaust Research in memory of Abraham Meir Schwartzbaum, Holocaust survivor, and his family members murdered in the Holocaust] Since 2018 the prize is awarded in memory of Benny and Tilly Joffe z"l, Holocaust survivors, and their family who was murdered in the Holocaust.[https://www.yadvashem.org/research/fellowships/book-prize.html The Yad Vashem International Book Prize for Holocaust Research 2022] It is awarded annually in recognition of high scholarly research and writing on the Holocaust.{{cite web|url=https://www.yadvashem.org/research/fellowships/book-prize.html |title=The Yad Vashem International Book Prize for Holocaust Research 2012 |publisher=Yadvashem.org |access-date=25 February 2014}}
Sussman Prize for Paintings of the Shoah. Recipients include:
1996: Aharon Gluska and Moshe Kupferman
The annual Buchman Foundation Memorial Prize, for writers and scholars for Holocaust-related works. Recipients include:{{cite web|url=http://yad-vashem.org.il/yv/en/pressroom/magazine/pdf/yv_magazine44.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=31 October 2013 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304053123/http://yad-vashem.org.il/yv/en/pressroom/magazine/pdf/yv_magazine44.pdf |archive-date=4 March 2016 }}
2007: Hanoch Bartov, for Beyond the Horizon, Across the Street
2007: Shlomo Aronson, for Hitler, the Allies and the Jews
Earlier: Aharon Appelfeld, Alona Frankel (2005),{{cite web|url=http://www.alonafrankel.com/girl21.html |title=Buchman Prize – Yad Vashem Judges' Reasons |publisher=Alonafrankel.com |access-date=25 February 2014}} Ida Fink, Dina Porat, Lizzie Doron,{{Cite news |title=My Three Homelands - Israeli Culture. Interview with Lizzie Doron |url=https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/culture/2008-03-18/ty-article/my-three-homelands/0000017f-f3f8-dc28-a17f-ffffd3a50000 |last=Lev-Ari |first=Shiri|publisher=Haaretz |date=2008-03-18 |access-date=2024-01-19}} Amir Gutfreund, and Itamar Levin.

Awards bestowed upon Yad Vashem

In 1973, the Pinkas HaKehillot (Encyclopedia of Jewish Communities) project of Yad Vashem was awarded the Israel Prize, for its special contribution to society and the State.{{cite web|title=Israel Prize Official Site – Recipients in 1973 (in Hebrew) |url=http://cms.education.gov.il/educationcms/units/prasisrael/tashlag/tashmab_tashlag_rikuz.htm?dictionarykey=tashlag |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110721141146/http://cms.education.gov.il/educationcms/units/prasisrael/tashlag/tashmab_tashlag_rikuz.htm?dictionarykey=tashlag |archive-date=21 July 2011 }}
In 2003, Yad Vashem was awarded the Israel Prize, for lifetime achievement and its special contribution to society and the State.{{cite web| title = Israel Prize Official Site (in Hebrew) – Recipient's C.V. (2003) | url = http://cms.education.gov.il/EducationCMS/Units/PrasIsrael/Tashsag/YadVashem/}}{{cite web| title = Israel Prize Official Site (in Hebrew)- Judges' Considerations for Grant of Prize to Recipient in 2003 | url = http://cms.education.gov.il/EducationCMS/Units/PrasIsrael/Tashsag/YadVashem/NimokyHsoftim.htm}}
In September 2007, Yad Vashem received the Prince of Asturias Award for Concord.{{Cite web|url=http://www.yadvashem.org/press-release/12-september-2007-14-51.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180507222509/http://www.yadvashem.org/press-release/12-september-2007-14-51.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=7 May 2018|title=Yad Vashem Receives Prince of Asturias Award for Concord |date=7 May 2018}} The Prince of Asturias Awards are presented in eight categories. The Award for Concord is bestowed upon a person, persons, or institution whose work has made an exemplary and outstanding contribution to mutual understanding and peaceful coexistence among men, to the struggle against injustice or ignorance, to the defense of freedom, or whose work has widened the horizons of knowledge or has been outstanding in protecting and preserving mankind's heritage.
On 25 October 2007, Yad Vashem Chairman Avner Shalev was awarded the Légion d'honneur for his "extraordinary work on behalf of Holocaust remembrance worldwide." French President Nicolas Sarkozy presented Shalev with the award in a special ceremony at the Élysée Palace.
In 2011, Shalev received the City of Jerusalem's Patron of Jerusalem Award in recognition of his work in the city.{{cite web|url=http://www.yadvashem.org/press-release/30-may-2011-14-50.html|title=Yad Vashem Chairman Avner Shalev to Receive 2011 Patron of Jerusalem (Yakir Yerushalayim) Award|date=7 March 2011|publisher=Yad Vashem|access-date=11 November 2013}}