Memorial To All Victims Of The Holocaust - New York, NY
Posted by: 
neoc1
N 40° 44.545 W 073° 59.207
18T E 585544 N 4510657
The Memorial To All Victims Of The Holocaust is located at the Appellate Division Courthouse of the New York State Supreme Court building on E. 25th Street & Madison Avenue opposite Madison Square Park in Manhattan.
Waymark Code: WMGCPM
Location: New York, United States
Date Posted: 02/15/2013
Views: 13
A marble memorial to the victims to the Holocaust was added to the Beaux Arts New York State Supreme Court in 1990. The extremely ornate white limestone building was designed by James Brown Lord and built in 1896-1899. It is extensively decorated with Corinthian columns and numerous white marble sculptures of persons related to the profession of law. The new Holocaust memorial was placed in the north west corner of the building on Madison Avenue. From a distance it looks like another decorative flourish to the building. Upon a closer look, I was struck by the subtly and starkness of the monument.
The memorial is a six sided half column rising 27 feet above its base designed and sculpted by Harriet Feigenbaum. A five sided concave base extends one story below ground level making the overall height of the memorial 38 feet. The subtle carving of flames along the length of the column are suggestive of the flames of the gas chambers at Auschwitz. The largest of the flames rises up from below ground level. At eye level is a stark relief model of an aerial view of the main camp at Auschwitz based on a photograph taken during an Allied bombing raid on August 25, 1944. Above the relief of the model is the inscription INDIFFERENCE TO INJUSTICE. Between the model and the large flame is written IS THE GATE TO HELL. Several locations in Auschwitz identified. Inscriptions are the: AUSCHWITZ 25 AUGUST 1944, TORTURE CHAMBER, EXECUTION WALL, GAS CHAMBER AND CREMATORIUM 1, and the COMMANDANT'S HOUSE.
A brass sign next to the memorial provide details abut the work. it is inscribed:
MEMORIAL TO ALL VICTIMS OF THE HOLOCAUST
1938 - 1945
sculptor
HARRIETT FEIGENBAUM
lighting
HOWARD BRANDSTON CHARLES SALZHAUER
COLLECTION of the CITY of NEW YORK
ORGANIZATION FOR THE MEMORIAL VICTIMS OF
THE INJUSTICE OF THE HOLOCAUST
sponsored by
THE NEW YOUR CITY DEPARTMENT OF CITYWIDE ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES
accession number 17318
"For me, a work of public art must enhance the environment in a provocative way. Art created for a particular situation cannot satisfy every special interest group, nor should it. The artist's mission must prevail or the resulting project will not be an artwork." -- Harriet Feigenbaum
I think that Ms. Feigenbaum achieved her goal. The subtle beauty and meaning of the carved flames contrasted against the stark relief of the Auschwitz Concentration Camp was very evocative and somewhat mesmerizing. The reading of the inscriptions provoked the feelings of the horror of the Holocaust. It is well worth pausing, examining and pondering this memorial.