HOLOCAUST MEMORIAL
Southern Florida in general and Miami in particular have particularly large and active Jewish populations. As a result there are numerous centres and museums explorings Jewish culture and history. One particularly gripping member of that collection is Miami's Holocaust Memorial. The overwhelming emotional power of this site is too important to miss. The gripping sculptural centrepiece, Kenneth Triester's Sculpture of Love & Anguish, depicts victims of the concentration camps crawling up a giant, yearning hand, stretching up to the sky, marked with an Auschwitz number tattoo. Along the border of the reflecting pool several marble stones recount the story of the Holocaust. As one proceeds inside the centre he is struck by a tableau memorializing the millions of Jews who lost their lives in the Holocaust with all the solemnity and sadness such a great tragedy is due. But there's more to it than that. The Dome of Contemplation and Memorial Wall, lined with photographs of the concentration camps, the crematoria and names of those who were interred and perished there complete what is sure to be a somber and moving experience. In the midst of a city devoted to life's joys and the pursuit of pleasure, this memorial is sure to make one pause and reflect.
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