City's first Holocaust remembrance memorial unveiled at Elmwood Cemetery
A memorial dedicated to the lives lost in the Holocaust is now standing at Elmwood Cemetery.
This steel monument is meant to show the world that those lost will never be forgotten.
"We want to make sure that all six million of those who were murdered get that same honor and same respect, that their souls get to be remembered even after they're no longer in this world," Rabbi Steven Henkin said.
Henkin from Temple Beth-El gathered with more than two dozen others for this historic dedication.
The eight-foot-tall monument is the first Holocaust memorial in Birmingham.
It was made by local artist Reuben Halpern.
Six large branches for the six million Jews who died.
Standing with his son, Halpern said every other piece of it has meaning, too.
"With the branches cut off evenly, that indicates they didn't finish their life cycle and time," Halpern said. "Then I got the six, Magen David Hebrew, Jewish stars hiding on the tree in the tree. And they indicate that the Jews that were hiding during the war for their life."
The wreath was made from barbed wire meant to signify concentration camp fences.
And the entire memorial was built on railroad tracks to indicate the trains that carried millions of Jews to their deaths.
"To have something like this sculpture to continue to tell the story and represent their story is critical for the story to stay alive," Helkin said.
This memorial brings so much meaning to the lives of Henkin and Halpern.
Both of their families survived the Holocaust in Nazi-occupied Poland.
"A Christian family that built the hole in the ground. And they kept them there for a good period of the time," Halpern said.
While time has passed, Henkin said there is always something to remember and learn from.
"For the Birmingham Jewish community, to have this to represent our community and our city is a really powerful impact, both the lessons that we can learn," Henkin said.
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