Pillar of Heroism

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Artist:

Buky Schwartz

Location:

Yad Vashem
Jerusalem

Size:

21 meters high

Material:

Stainless steel

Date:

1970

Description A three-sided pillar featured on the museum's grounds
Caption Designed in 1970 by Buky Schwartz, the Pillar of Heroism is a 21-meter-high pillar standing on the edge of a plaza. From afar the monument resembles a tall chimney - calling to mind the chimneys of the death camps' crematoria, in which the bodies of the murdered victims were burnt.The Pillar of Heroism was erected at Yad Vashem after the Six-Day War in 1967, when Israel was still enjoying its victory. This war was perceived to be the antithesis of the Holocaust: Israel was in full control of its security, unlike the Jews of Nazi Europe. The pillar is three-sided, made of concave panels of shining stainless steel; the front panels bears the inscription: 
To the martyrs
To the ghetto fighters
To the partisans
To those who rebelled in the camps
To the fighters of the underground
To the soldiers in the armies
To those who saved their brethren
To the courageous people who took part in the clandestine immigration 
The heroes of valor and revolt 
For everlasting life
This inscription stresses the concept of heroism, highly valued at the time, both the physical heroism of the fighters and the spiritual heroism of the martyrs.
From: www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Holocaus...
 

Other References For Information about Yad Vashem: http://www.yadvashem.org

For more information about the sculpture: http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/monuments-in-israel...

For more information about the artist: http://www.bukyschwartz.com