A View to Memory:

The New Holocaust History Museum

by Leah Goldstein

Photo: Ardon Bar Hama, courtesy Moshe Safdie Architects

When planning the architectural design of the new Holocaust History Museum building, world-renowned architect Moshe Safdie was faced with considerable challenges outlined in Yad Vashem’s development program: to design a museum structure that would combine the Holocaust’s historical narrative with an appropriate and effective experience for the thousands of individuals who visit Yad Vashem daily; to make the museum an integral part of the visitors’ route through the campus; to design the Hall of Names as an essential component of the museum; and to maintain the character of the surrounding natural landscape, as well as the prominence of the Hall of Remembrance—the focus of commemoration at the site since its early years.

Inside the new Holocaust History Museum

In response to these considerations, Safdie developed a concept of an underground scheme. The design consists of a prism-like triangular structure that penetrates the mountain from one side to the other, with both ends dramatically cantilevering into the open air. The visitor enters the museum via a bridge from the Avenue of the Righteous Among the Nations. Once inside, a series of diagonal channels cut in the floor of the prism—introduced by the museum’s exhibit designer Dorit Harel, of Dorit Harel Design Inc.—guides the visitor through each of the eight-meter high underground galleries depicting different chapters of the Shoah. All the while, both ends of the museum remain visible, thus maintaining the linear character of the events.

“The triangular form of the structure was chosen to support the pressure of the earth above the prism while bringing in daylight from above through a 200 meter-long glass skylight, ” explains Safdie. “The museum’s planners requested that it not be immersed in darkness. The skylight allows gleams of daylight to contrast with darker areas required for multimedia presentations.” Within the galleries, light enters through localized skylights varying from diffused to clear glass, depending on the requirements of each exhibit.

The new Hall of Names

At the end of the historical narrative is the Hall of Names, which functions as a repository for the Pages of Testimony of millions of Holocaust victims, a memorial to those who perished, and—in a separate room—a place where visitors can conduct searches of the Shoah Victims’ Names Database. The main Hall is composed of two cones: one extending ten meters skywards, echoed by a reciprocal well-like cone excavated into the natural underground rock, its base filled with water. Visitors enter the Hall in the circular space—nine meters high and eleven meters in diameter—between the two cones onto an elevated ring-shaped platform. From here they are able to view the upper cone, where a display, designed by Dorit Harel, features some 600 photographs of Holocaust victims and fragments of Pages of Testimony; this is 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 Pages of Testimony collected so far, with empty spaces for those yet to be submitted—room for six million Pages in total.

The entire structure of the museum—floors, wall, interior and exterior—are reinforced concrete. No other finishes, insulation or any other cladding were added to the basic concrete shell. Throughout the prism, the triangular cross-section varies, becoming narrower at the center. The warped surface formed by this variation, amplified by a gently sloping floor, creates a changing sequence of spaces and gives the illusion of descending deep into the mountain. As the route nears its northern exit, the floor begins to ascend and the triangle opens up again, with the exit bursting forth from the mountain’s slope to a dramatic view of modern-day Jerusalem.

The new Museum is scheduled to open in March 2005.

Copyright ©2004 Yad Vashem The Holocaust Martyrs' and Heroes' Remembrance Authority