Yad Vashem Holocaust Museum

The tour of Yad Vashem, Israel's official memorial to the victims of the Holocaust was the hardest for me. The Holocaust was the Nazi's (and Satan's) evil attempt to exterminate all Jewish people. The picture of the mountain of discarded shoes and the museum's preservation of some of these was the most surreal and heartbreaking to me. These shoes were worn by real people who were degraded, tortured and murdered in such an evil way. It is mine and your historical and moral responsibility to never forget what happened to the Jewish people for no other reason than they were Jewish - God's Chosen people.
The Museum is a detailed and brutal timeline of the Nazi's murder of 6 and a half million Jews of which 1 and a half million were children. The museum is dedicated to preserving the memory of the dead; honoring Jews who fought against their Nazi oppressors and Gentiles who selflessly aided Jews in need; and researching the phenomenon of the Holocaust in particular and genocide in general, to avoid such events in the future.
The tour walks downward in the corridor through the exhibits and then gradually climbs upwards. The exit involves stepping from a dark corridor into daylight, on a balcony overlooking Jerusalem. The symbolism represents the passage of the Jewish people through the dark days of the Holocaust to the light of Israel.
Outside in the Garden of the Righteous Among the Nations, there are trees planted for Corrie Ten Boom, Oscar Schindler and many others who aided the Jews during the Holocaust.
Our tour guide said Jews ask "Where was God when this happened?" and he said it was the slap in the face that brought the Jews back to Israel.Read more