Holocaust Monument - Skokie, IL - The Holocaust on Waymarking.com

From the Village website:

"Made of bronze and marble
Approximately 13 feet tall
Installed May, 1987

The Holocaust Monument was a gift to the Village of Skokie by the Sheerit Hapleitah of Metropolitan Chicago on behalf of the survivor community. The Monument was designed by Bert J. Gast; sculpted by Edward Chesney, a Detroit-based artist and the contractor was Fred Kornick of Kornick Monuments of Chicago. The Monument depicts a Jewish family during the 1943 Warsaw Ghetto uprising. Skokie was selected as the site for the Monument because of its affiliation with Jewish causes throughout the years and because Skokie has been home to more than 7,000 Holocaust survivors. The Monument is located in the Village Green, located between Skokie Village Hall (5127 Oakton Street) and the Skokie Public Library (5215 Oakton Street)."

The plaque reads:
"This monument has been erected as a lasting memorial to all victims of Nazism and will remain in perpetuity as a reminder what hate can do to mankind, if decent people are not vigilant to forestall such a calamity in the future."

At the bottom of the statues is inscribed: "Thou shallt not kill."

Inscriptions on the stone base include the following:
>The Biblical verse Lamentations I:12 in Hebrew and English
>In honor of the ghetto fighters, the underground resistance and the
U.S. Armed Forces who helped defeat the scourge of Nazism.
> In memory of the six million Jews and all other victims who perished at the hands of the Nazis.
> Remember our martyrs annihilated in Auschwitz, Bergen Belsen, Buchenwald, Dachau, Majdanek, Treblinka and all other concentration camps.

The Village Green also contains a number of abstract sculptures, which contrast the serious and somber nature of this memorial. Those sculptures are what first attracted my attention when I was passing the plaza. Then I saw the monument at the far end and wandered over. Another lady was finishing reading the plaque. The brilliant sunshine was a bit overwhelming - perhaps they should have placed it in a shaded spot. One side of the base mentions Dachau. Many years ago I visited there on a post grad school trip to Europe. It too was now very clean and sunny. Capturing such a terrible human tragedy in monuments is a challenge.

Skokie is also the site of the Illinois Holocaust Museum.

Physical Address: Village Green 5127 Oakton Street Skokie, IL USA Date Dedicated: 05/31/1987 Supporting Website: [Web Link] Memorial Type: Monument/Plaque Fee/Donation: Not listed

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