Union Street was full of life. The doors of businesses were open; pedestrians populated the sidewalks and traffic was heavy. Generally, the area was boisterous. However, when I entered the island that was in the middle of Union Street the atmosphere suddenly became quiet; deathly quiet. There was no noise, no live banter by tourists or honking cars. Instead of horror, dismay and sadness outfitted the faces of many who began their self-guided tour of the New England Holocaust Memorial in Boston, Massachusetts.

The architectural style of The New England Holocaust Memorial was a re-creation of the six gas chambers that were used to murder millions of Jewish people who were unjustly imprisoned by the Nazi soldiers from 1939-1945. Strategically, six clear glass towers stood 54 feet tall. On the outside of the glasses were the assigned numbers of over six million Jews murdered in the gas chambers. Dishonorably, numbers were used to replace the names of their victims. Their identities and accomplishments were stripped down to a few numbers that each Jew wore as a tattoo on their arm.

Etched on the inside of the glass, were quotes from people who witnessed and survived the Holocaust. For example, Sally Sanders, Holocaust Survivor, shared how many people died of starvation and sickness caused by long hours of digging useless ditches while wearing a thin striped dress during harsh winter months. Jacob Wiernek, Holocaust Survivor, was one of many construction workers coerced into building the gas chambers while being overseen by brutal Nazi Soldiers. This self-guided tour was tranquil. I moved throughout the gas chambers silently reading the historical accounts of horror that told from different perspectives.

Periodically, fog (which represented the deadly gas) came up from an iron vent that took the place of the ground. While standing on it, I bent down and looked through the vent, and there was what seemed to be black coals with tiny sparks of red light. In between the gas chambers was a small narrow walkway that had pebbles or rocks on each side. The sidewalk symbolized an old Jewish custom of placing stones on a grave site after visiting it. Along the edge of each side of the walkway, historical facts inscribed; it was one sentence on each side. The tour ended with a large granite monument that had another engraved quote.

Overall, the New England Holocaust Memorial was very somber. However, it was an educational experience to read the stories of survivors who shared their personal stories with the world. In my opinion, the survivors not only spoke for themselves, but they are the voice of the millions of people who were silencUnion Street was full of life. The doors of businesses were open; pedestrians populated the sidewalks and traffic was heavy. Generally, the area was boisterous. However, when I entered the island that was in the middle of Union Street the atmosphere suddenly became quiet; deathly quiet. There was no noise, no live banter by tourists or honking cars. Instead of horror, dismay and sadness outfitted the faces of many who began their self-guided tour of the New England Holocaust Memorial in Boston, Massachusetts.

The architectural style of The New England Holocaust Memorial was a re-creation of the six gas chambers that were used to murder millions of Jewish people who were unjustly imprisoned by the Nazi soldiers from 1939-1945. Strategically, six clear glass towers stood 54 feet tall. On the outside of the glasses were the assigned numbers of over six million Jews who killed in the gas chambers. Dishonorably, numbers were used to replace the names of their victims. Their identities and accomplishments were stripped down to a few numbers that each Jew wore as a tattoo on their arm.

Etched on the inside of the glass, were quotes from people who witnessed and survived the Holocaust. For example, Sally Sanders, Holocaust Survivor, shared how many people died of starvation and sickness caused by long hours of digging useless ditches while wearing a thin striped dress during harsh winter months. Jacob Wiernek, Holocaust Survivor, was one of many construction workers coerced into building the gas chambers while being overseen by brutal Nazi Soldiers. This self-guided tour was tranquil. I moved throughout the gas chambers silently reading the historical accounts of horror that told from different perspectives.

Periodically, fog (which represented the deadly gas) came up from an iron vent that took the place of the ground. While standing on it, I bent down and looked through the vent, and there was what seemed to be black coals with tiny sparks of red light. In between the gas chambers was a small narrow walkway that had pebbles or rocks on each side. The sidewalk symbolized an old Jewish custom of placing stones on a grave site after visiting it. Along the edge of each area of the sidewalk, historical facts inscribed. It was one sentence each side. The tour ended with a large granite monument that had another engraved quote.

Overall, the New England Holocaust Memorial was very somber. However, it was an educational experience to read the stories of survivors who shared their personal stories with the world. In my opinion, the survivors not only spoke for themselves, but they are the voice of the millions of people silenced forever.

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The fog is symbolic of the gas used in the chambers.

Assigned numbers of Jews who were executed in the gas chambers.

Inscribed quote of the horrid accounts that holocaust survivors shared.

Facts of holocaust written on the narrow walkway.