Hyde Park Holocaust Memorial

The Holocaust Memorial in Hyde Park, London, was the first public memorial in Great Britain dedicated to victims of the Holocaust.[1][2] It lies to the east of the Serpentine Lake,[1] in The Dell, an open-air area within the park. Since its unveiling in 1983 remembrance services have taken place at the memorial every year.[3]

Hyde Park Holocaust Memorial
Holocaust Memorial
The Hyde Park Holocaust Memorial
51°30′15.53″N 0°9′32.03″W
LocationHyde Park
London, SW1
DesignerMark Badger, Richard Seifert, Derek Lovejoy and partners
TypeMemorial
MaterialGranite boulder
Beginning date1983
Completion date1983
Opening date1983
Dedicated toVictims of the Holocaust

Construction and unveiling

The memorial was built in 1983, funded by the Board of Deputies of British Jews under the impetus of then-President Greville Janner, a Labour Party MP.[2][3][4] It was designed by Mark Badger, Richard Seifert, Derek Lovejoy and partners.[1] It was unveiled on 28 June 1983, during a service led by then-Environment Secretary Patrick Jenkin, Baron Jenkin of Roding. Attended by a crowd of 500 spectators including Sir Immanuel Jakobovits, Baron Jakobovits, Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth, Jenkin described the memorial as "a reminder of the past and a warning for the future."[4] The attending guests then sang hymns and "Adon Olam", a Sabbath hymn.

The then-shadow Environment Secretary Gerald Kaufman, whose grandmother was murdered by the Nazis in Poland, also stated that "the memorial was essential because the German responsibility was partly shared by other countries."[4]

Design
The inscription on the face of the memorial, quoting the Book of Lamentations in Hebrew and English.

The memorial consists of two boulders lying within a gravel bed, surrounded by a copse of silver birch trees. It is inscribed in both English and Hebrew with the words "For these I weep. Streams of tears flow from my eyes because of the destruction of my people"[1] which is a quotation from the Book of Lamentations.[4]

See also

References

Notes
  1. "Monuments in Hyde Park". The Royal Parks. 2012. Archived from the original on 12 July 2013. Retrieved 11 July 2013.
  2. Cooke (2000), pp. 449–465.
  3. "National Memorial". Yomhashoah UK. Retrieved 12 July 2013.
  4. "Garden in London's Hyde Park is Britain's Holocaust Memorial". JTA. 28 June 1983. Retrieved 12 July 2013.

Written works

Media related to Holocaust Memorial, London at Wikimedia Commons

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