What is a monument? According to one of the definitions in the Merriam-Webster dictionary, a monument is: 3a(1): a lasting evidence, reminder, or example of someone or something notable or great (2): a distinguished person b: a memorial stone or a building erected in remembrance of a person or event As a Holocaust survivor and volunteer at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, I think much of the work we do here qualifies as building a kind of monument. We donate artifacts, write stories, and give oral testimony for others to hear and learn about the Holocaust and its effect on us, our families, our countries, and our religion. When our writing workshop leader, Maggie, asked us to write about a favorite monument, I was at a bit of a loss. I do not find stone and metal monuments very informative. I always want to know more. If the monument is of a person, it always strikes me as almost idolizing. The whole story, even if told from one viewpoint, is always more interesting and thought-provoking to me.
A monument commemorating the Kindertransport at the Liverpool Street station in England. Wjh31, lifeinmegapixels.com
I was excited when my friend in London sent me a picture of the statues in Liverpool Street train station honoring the Kindertransport. The Kindertransport was a rescue mission by the British that saved 10,000 children. The children had to travel unaccompanied and there was a 50-pound fee. At that time, there was so little information being shared about the Kindertransport, which is how my three sisters and I escaped from Nazi Germany. However, I wondered how much the casual visitor would understand about the role of the Kindertransport from seeing the monument and reading the explanation. What I really find most exciting and helpful for increasing knowledge of the Holocaust are all the articles and movies now appearing that talk about the Kindertransport. Each article or movie describes a different aspect of the rescue mission, but together they begin to give the observer a feeling for the despair of the parents, the strangeness for the child, and the willingness of strangers and distant families to help. Only in helping people understand the far-reaching tentacles of this event can we see the connections to the modern world and its problems. A monument can only show a specific period in time.
In Norwich, where I lived as a refugee, there is a small exhibit in a local museum about Kindertransport. Interestingly, the word Kindertransport is not used in the display. It talks about the number of children sent there and some of the families who took them in. Again, it is one aspect of the history, but it shows the interconnection of the government and involved people. Of course, this is one of my favorites because my picture as a toddler is part of the exhibit.
We need monuments to keep history alive, but we also need to learn background stories and delve into the impacts on the people involved. My family and I will always know what the Kindertransport meant to us, but how do we design monuments that draw people to wonder and seek more knowledge of the Kindertransport and use this knowledge to impact current life?
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