Horwitz-Wasserman Holocaust Memorial Plaza

Museum ! This is a beautiful representation of the Jewish experience in America. It is uplifting, informative, and will bring a smile at times. This museum is for all ages and ethnicities. It is free but the recommended donation is well worth it.

Even though I'm not Jewish, I took a moment to respect and appreciate what this symbols and means to so many.

Just an open area dedicated to the Holocaust. Good place to sit and chill for lunch, etc.

powerful and impactful

Small but powerful place for reflection. Download the iwalk app . It will add to your appreciation.

A moving memorial that has emotional impact as well as being visually striking and informative.

Nice memorial.

Beautiful

This is a nice, be it small plaza located in the heart of Philly across from love park. The plaza has many features that you may miss. The most prominent feature is the sculpture in the middle of it. The sculpture is the work of Nathan Rapoport and holds the distinction of being the first public monument in North America to memorialize Holocaust victims. If was gifted to the city in 1964 by a group of holocaust survivors and local Jewish leaders. The sculpture depicts a mixture of body parts in the shape of a large flame. It is very nice and in great shape, especially considering its age. The park also features Six Pillars, which are 6 black granite slabs that are intended to honor the 6 million Jews murdered during the holocaust. The panels has writing on both sides. One side chronicles a Holocaust atrocity and the reverse side has a contrasting American constitutional protections/values. Other features the plaza has are an eternal flame that you will find in a sloping black granite wall, known as the wall of remembrance and represents hope and light. There are also a grove of trees on the parks perimeter that represents the woods that sheltered those that resisted the Nazis. I missed this during my visit, but there is train tracks in the plaza, but not just any train tracks. They are original tracks from the railroad near Polish Death Camp of Treblinka. They are embedded in the plaza's cement. That is awesome. I also did not notice the Theresienstadt tree that was planted there. This is the type of tree that were natured by Jewish children while they were awaiting their fate in death camps. The tree is meant to symbolize life and hope for future generations. The innovative plaza allows visitors to use an app called IWalk to guide them through the plaza. It is available on most major phone platforms. It is pretty cool. As visitors approach specific features of the Plaza, the app presents tailored content for that respective feature. Which is even cooler, the app customizes the content based on the visitor's age, language preference, and learning objectives. As this plaza is located downtown, parking is a bit tricky. You will have to pay for metered street parking, but it is reasonably priced and you may have to walk a bit. I have been to many holocaust memorials and plaza across the country and this is one of the better ones. This is a very nice plaza that has a lot of symbolism/meaning and does a great job honoring and remembering those that lost their life during the Holocaust. It has a calming peacefulness about it, which is hard to do in the busy downtown Philly area. It is well put together and is very well maintained. I recommend putting this spot on your itinerary while you are touring Philly.

This review is limited to the Monument to the six million Jewish martyrs located in the Memorial plaza. I ran out of the car in a pouring rain while my husband circled the block for me to get pictures of it. Designed by Nathan Rapoport the sculpture is made of bronze on a black granite base. It was dedicated to the city in 1964. The work conveys the a sense of spiritual redemption as symbolized by the burning bush. In the flames of the bush a suffering mother reclines, and above her a wailing child throws out its arms. A man raises his hands in prayer, while another grasps a Torah scroll. Near the top fists clutch daggers, symbols of resistance. At the apex the flames become the blazing candles of a Menorah. One side of the statue's base is a memorial to tribe to the martyrs. The other side lists the death camps by name with Hebrew writing at the top. Although there is much more to see in this little plaza this statue alone is worth the visit. The sculpture is so detailed and brings back the grim reality that we should "never forget" what happened here.