|
United States
Senator Barack Obama visited Yad Vashem on July 23, 2008. He was
accompanied by Chairman of the Yad Vashem Directorate Avner
Shalev.
During his tour
of the Holocaust History Museum, Senator Obama was deeply moved by
the photographs of the liberation of Buchenwald Concentration
Camp, mentioning that his great uncle was among the American
soldiers who liberated the camp. In addition to his visit in the
Holocaust History Museum and the Hall of Names, Senator Obama
participated in a wreath-laying ceremony in the Hall of
Remembrance, and visited the Children’s Memorial. Standing in
Janusz Korzcak Square, Senator Obama wrote in the Visitors’ Book:
I am grateful
to Yad Vashem and all of those responsible for this remarkable
institution. At a time of great peril and promise, war and
strife, we are blessed to have such a powerful reminder of man’s
potential for great evil, but also our capacity to rise up from
tragedy and remake our world. Let our children come here, and
know this history, so that they can add their voices to proclaim
“never again.” And may we remember those who perished, not only
as victims, but also as individuals who hoped and loved and
dreamed like us, and who have become symbols of the human spirit.
|
 |
|
Senator Barack
Obama studies an exhibit in the Holocaust History Museum; to
his right is Israel’s Ambassador to the United States Sallai
Meridor |
|
|
Senator Obama, accompanied by Chairman of the Yad Vashem Directorate Avner
Shalev, views the Auschwitz Album in the Holocaust History Museum |
Senator Obama studies a photograph of the
liberation of Buchenwald in the Holocaust History Museum; Senior Guide Guy
Shemer is pointing at Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel who appears in the
image
|
Senator Obama and
Chairman of the Yad Vashem Directorate Avner Shalev in the Hall of Names
|
