Monuments, Memorial Sites, and Commemoration Sites, Recount History
Authors:   Ariel University, Israel, Dorot Dr. Ruth 
Published: February 2022

Over time, the live memories of survivors have disappeared, and it has become clear that the memory of the Jewish Holocaust could disappear entirely in the absence of institutional efforts to preserve it. The understanding that collective memory can be preserved only through proactive efforts led to the development of formal and informal curricula for Holocaust education. The main assumption is that Holocaust education has the potential to generate a moral transformation. In light of this conclusion the question is: What kind of changes do we seek and how should we accomplish them? This study deals with a case study of one of the constitutive historical events of the 20th century: commemoration of the Holocaust. The study focuses on the Experiential Learning Method of educating about Holocaust remembrance and commemoration and about Holocaust monuments. Over the years memorial centers have been added, which contain additional monuments commemorating the story of a specific place and/or personal stories. One of the currently customary methods of commemoration in Israel is the journey to Poland, to the labor, concentration, and death camps, to the various memorial sites and monuments. This journey is undertaken by young and old, groups and singles, from all over the world and particularly from Israel. Since many of those taking the journey are young people at an age when personal, national, and historical identity is formed, a time when the young acquire their educational values, it is particularly important to ascertain who is charged with passing on the beacon of memory. This leads to weighty questions regarding the identity of the guides who lead these journeys and the contents they choose to impart to the participants, the guidance sites, and the method of guidance. Who will tell the story? How will the story be told? What will remain of the story? This study discusses in addition, a case study of guides from Israel charged with imparting this chapter of human history. In order to explore their impact, interviews were held with 47 guides, the large majority of whom are Israeli born, a majority academics, and many hold advanced degrees. The research findings indicate that they aim the commemoration beacon primarily at guidance sites in Poland. The study explored other diverse essential parameters regarding the profile of “guides to Poland” – where did they study? What is their personal affiliation with the subject? What is their position on the universal and Jewish narrative of the Holocaust? In light of the interviews conducted, it appears that almost all of them have the necessary tools to convey the most complete and comprehensive educational message. Accordingly, this issue was explored and most of the guides reported that the most influential message of commemoration is conveyed primarily through visits to camps and ghettos in Poland. This conclusion generates a theoretical, practical, philosophical, moral, and educational question indicating the “exporting of historical memory”. Should our entire educational focus indeed be exclusively on Poland? How can we preserve the ethos of the affiliation between the Holocaust of the Jews and heroism in the Holocaust, as well as heroism in Israel and its building, if we disregard the many commemoration and memorial sites within Israel? Do the journeys to the camps and to the valley of death in Poland, which are led by these guides, not create a distortion in the instilling of Holocaust remembrance and heritage, by disregarding the many commemoration sites and monuments throughout Israel? Aiming the beacon of commemoration at Poland, outside Israel, prevents exposure of the public, and particularly teenagers, to the natural association formed in Israel between Holocaust and revival, which preserves the connecting link between the generations.