Date: May 23, 2007
Subject: Shoah woeah
Guest poster: Tom Lingner

I have visited two holocaust memorials - the one behind Notre Dame Cathedral at the eastern tip of the Ile de la Cité in Paris, and the one pictured here, in Boston. Both are stark reminders of the inhumanity which seems to be inherent in humans.

Designed by Stanley Saitowitz, the six towers of the Boston memorial represent the six primary internment camps. Etched into the glass sheathing of the towers are six million numbers, representing the individuals who died in those camps. Most chilling of all, however, in my opinion, is the bottom of each tower, which is an open grate covering steaming coals. As one walks along the path beneath the towers, reading quotes and memories of survivors, the periodic and often unexpected bursts of steam are unforgettable.