New Yad Vashem museum to be opened in Jerusalem

14 Mar 2005

The redesigned and rebuilt Holocaust History Museum Yad Vashem in Jerusalem is to be opened this week in a series of dedication events. Delegations from more than 35 countries are expected to attend ceremonies jointly organized by the Israeli government and Yad Vashem. United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan and hundreds of high-level dignitaries from around the world are expected to head official delegations. Many Holocaust scholars are also expected to attend, including Nobel Peace Prize laureate Elie Wiesel. The new museum presents the history of the murder of six million Jews in the Holocaust by focusing on the personal story of the individual victim. Lists of the deported Jews displayed in the museum are interspersed with the pictures of the victims who have been identified; the original cobblestone street, tram rails, and street lamps from the destroyed Warsaw Ghetto contrast with Nazi "documentary" films. Screens of short films with the testimony of 60 survivors are found throughout the museum, as are the original Schindler's lists.