Holocaust Monument Dedication

Yesterday ws a very special day. First, it was Yom Hashorah, Holocaust Remembrance Day. Second, the Greensboro community installed a monument dedicated to the women and children who endured or perished in the Holocaust. The monument, created by artist Victoria Carlin Milstein features five women; one older, one a child, and three young adults. Originally from New York,  Victoria Carlin Milstein now lives and works in Greensboro. Her studio is located at 517 South Elm Street. The above statue now resides in Carolyn's Garden in LeBauer Park in  honor of Carolyn LeBauer- for whom the park and garden are named. The sculpture is very representative of Carlin Milstein's work, with haunting expressions of Jewish women and children. As Ian McDowell of "Yes Weekly" reminds us, this sculpture, called "She Wouldn't Take Off Her Boots," * is North Carolina's first Holocaust Memorial. The Jewish community has been contributing significantly to the Greensboro community (and North Carolina) since the 1800s and remains flourishing, vibrant, and impactful today. It is due time a monument was installed.

Memorial candles were lit, in remembrance of these 5 in the sculpture and the others who died during the Holocaust. At today's dedication, it was mentioned that over 6,000,000 Jewish people were killed during the Holocaust, roughly the same number residing in the United States today. Mayor Nancy Vaughn dedicated the monument. Victoria and Ron Milstein and Shelly Weiner and Rachel Kizhnerman unveiled the monument. The Multi-Cultural Choir sang "Standing on the Shoulders" a moving song that honors forefathers. As hinted in the above photo, yesterday's crowd was large, but orderly. If you weren't able to attend this special event, you will have plenty of time to head to LeBauer Park and see the monument. You will see a bronze camera pointing at the monument, reminding us that the sculpture was designed from a photo a Nazi photographer took to document the killings. Also, there are QR codes all around the garden where you can hear Holocaust stories from people of Greensboro.

*the title of the sculpture comes from the fact that the older woman in the middle was still wearing her boots, even as the Nazis required the women to disrobe before being shot.

Comments

[William Kendall]

Very poignant.