Remembering the Holocaust with Today's Technology

Most people will agree that the Holocaust was a tragedy that still needs to be remembered.  Those lost should not be forgotten, and we should look to the events of the past to ensure they are not repeated in the future.  We obviously find this to be very important as we move forward in creating the Kristallnacht memorial wall.  How these events are remembered, though, can be an interesting issue.  The Baltimore Jewish Times recently had an article about the way some people are using Facebook as a way to memorialize those who lost their lives in the Holocaust:

But the reality is that Holocaust memorialization is moving onto social-networking sites like Facebook and presenting new opportunities for remembering the victims —- and bringing a whole new set of complexities. One of the most popular and disorienting forms that this new virtual commemoration is taking is the Facebook profile. Even the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum is now involved with providing information to fill out the details of some of these profile pages.
The desire to personalize the identities of the 6 million Jews who perished in the Holocaust is not new. What is novel is the combination of this desire with a platform that is premised on empowering anybody to project his or her individuality far and wide.
There’s no more successful example of this fusion than the Facebook profile page of Henio Zytomirski. A small boy who must be no more than 7 or 8 years old appears in a black-and-white photo in the box provided for a profile picture. He looks full of joyful young life. But Henio has been dead since 1942, killed in a gas chamber at the Majdanek concentration camp when he was 9. On March 25, which would have been his birthday, dozens of Facebook users wished him a happy birthday on his “wall.” As of April 12, he had 4,989 “friends.”

It's a very interesting article that brings up some unique viewpoints.  You can read the rest of the article here.

What do you think?  Is this type of memorial tacky, or is it ingenious?  Is it a good way to engage today's generation or not?

A Question

As we're gearing up to get the Kristallnacht Project going in the near future, I was just wondering, what does Kristallnacht and this project mean to you?  What would you expect or like to get out of participating in the creation of this memorial wall?  Do you have any suggestions for us?  We want to make this the best possible experience for all involved and that means you!  So tell us, what do we need to know?

We're Up and Running!

The new website, kristallnachtproject.org, is up and running!  There's a ton of info about the history of Kristallnacht and Gary's memorial wall plans.  You can also keep up with us on facebook.  We're not quite ready to begin holding events yet, but you can sign up for the Kristalllnacht Project newsletter to keep up to date.

Introduction

In November, 1938, thousands of synagogues, businesses, homes and lives were destroyed in a single night. Kristallnacht - the night of broken glass - was a turning point that marked the beginning of the Holocaust. It began with that night and ended with the murder of six million Jews, including one and a half million children.

On November 9, 2013, the 75th anniversary of Kristallnacht, internationally renowned Judaica artist Gary Rosenthal will unveil the Kristallnacht Wall. This 600 square-foot glass sculpture will be made of countless shards of glass, fused together by thousands of people across the world.

From the broken glass, representing thousands of shattered windows destroyed out of hatred and prejudice, will emerge a beautiful work of art. This unique artwork will serve as a powerful reminder that societies must embrace diversity and celebrate differences among all peoples of the world; it will be a symbol of hope that mankind must live together harmoniously.

This exciting project is just finishing the all important planning stage and is ready to start finding people who want to get involved.  There might not be much to write about here to begin with, but if this project gathers the steam we think it will, this blog will be a place to read about news and updates, see pictures of events, and keep track of how we're doing in way of reaching the ultimate goal, as well as to provide an easy way for you to keep in touch with us.  You can follow us on facebook as well, and visit the main website for more information.

In the meantime, have a look at these artist renditions of the memorial wall and accompanying pieces: