From Sonja Cohen,
Your Guide to Boston.
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A distinctive and moving monument, the New England Holocaust Memorial in Boston was dedicated in October 1995 to encourage remembrance of and reflection on the great tragedy of the Holocaust (Shoah).

New England Holocaust Memorial Design
Designed by architect Stanley Saitowitz, the New England Holocaust Memorial features six 54-foot-high glass towers. Six million numbers—representing the six million Jewish people killed during the Holocaust—are etched into the glass. Each tower is inscribed with the names of one of the six primary Nazi death camps—Auschwitz-Birkenau, Belzec, Chelmno, Majdanek, Sobibor, and Treblinka—and at night the towers are illuminated. Steam rises eerily dreamlike from chambers beneath each tower.

The New England Holocaust Memorial is open to interpretation. As its website puts it, the towers can "recall the six main death camps, the six million Jews who died, or a menorah of memorial candles."

At the start of the Memorial, a panel outlines major historical events surrounding the Holocaust. A black granite path runs the length of the Memorial, through the towers, and periodic historical facts are inscribed along it between the towers. Before the first tower the word "Remember" appears on the pathway in English and in Hebrew. Inscribed on the glass of each tower are a variety of moving personal accounts from survivors, witnesses, and resisters.

The New England Holocaust Memorial website explains that the goal of this mixture of historical and personal narrative "encourages visitors to understand the history of the Shoah, while never forgetting the individual lives devastated by it."

After the sixth tower the word "Remember" is inscribed again on the path. Finally, a large granite panel inscribed with the famous quote from Martin Niemoeller serves as a reminder of the continuing issues of prejudice and persecution in the world:

They came first for the Communists,
and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Communist.
Then they came for the Jews,
and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Jew.
Then they came for the trade unionists,
and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a trade unionist.
Then they came for the Catholics,
and I didn't speak up because I was a Protestant.
Then they came for me,
and by that time no one was left to speak up.

See a photo gallery of the New England Holocaust Memorial.

New England Holocaust Memorial and Education
Groups planning to visit the New England Holocaust Memorial can request educational and interpretive assistance and materials, including tour guides or speakers. There is also a study guide available for teachers or youth group leaders, which can help to prepare youth for a visit to the Memorial. Resources also exist to help groups that want to use the Memorial as a forum to present their own programs. To find out about these and other resources, visit nehm.org.

Getting to the New England Holocaust Memorial
The New England Holocaust Memorial is located along Congress Street in Carmen Park near Faneuil Hall, on Boston's Freedom Trail. The closest MBTA subway stations are Haymarket (green and orange lines) and Government Center (blue and green lines). If you plan to drive to the Memorial you can park at the 75 State Street Garage near Faneuil Hall.