Chamber of the Holocaust facts for kids
The Chamber of the Holocaust (which means "Cellar of the Catastrophe" in Hebrew) is a special museum in Jerusalem, Israel. It's located on Mount Zion, a very old and important hill. This museum was actually Israel's first museum dedicated to remembering the Holocaust, a terrible time when millions of Jewish people were killed.
A Place to Remember
This important memorial opened its doors on December 30, 1949. It was created by the Ministry of Religion. In the same year, ashes of victims from the Oranienburg concentration camp were buried here. Also buried were damaged Torah scrolls (holy Jewish books) that were found in Europe after the Nazis.
There is another big Holocaust museum in Israel called Yad Vashem. It was built later on a different hill, Mount Herzl. That new location was chosen to show new beginnings after such destruction. But the Chamber of the Holocaust was placed on Mount Zion. This was because Mount Zion is close to David's Tomb. This location connects the museum to ancient Jewish history and hope for the future.
Experts say the museum feels very serious and quiet. Its dark, cave-like rooms are lit by candles. This design helps people understand that the Holocaust was a continuation of the sadness and destruction Jewish communities faced throughout history.
What You Can See Inside
The museum has a large outdoor area and ten rooms where things are displayed. The walls in the courtyard and some rooms are covered with special plaques. These plaques look like tombstones. They are written in Hebrew, Yiddish, and English. They remember more than 2,000 Jewish communities that were destroyed during the Holocaust.
Many of these plaques were paid for by people who survived from those communities. Survivors often come here to hold special services. They do this on the day their town was destroyed.
Here is an example of what one of these plaques says:
In memory forever
Remembering our dear friends, the victims from our city
in Israel and around the world.
Przedecz (Pshaytsh)
(from the Włocławek area)
who were killed by the Nazis and their helpers
in Chełmno on April 24, 1942
and in other places of killing. May God remember them.
The day to remember them is set as the 7th day of Iyar.
May their lives be remembered forever.
Their holy memory is kept alive by the survivors from our city
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Many items in the museum are religious objects. You can see a Torah scroll from Węgrów, Poland, that has bloodstains. There's also a handwritten prayer book from the Buchenwald concentration camp. Other displays include items made from the parchments of Torah scrolls, like purses and shoe soles. There's even a coat sewn from Torah parchments that was worn by a Nazi officer.
You can also see a prisoner uniform from the Auschwitz concentration camp. The museum also has a display showing how gas ovens were used in the crematoria of concentration camps. There are urns with the ashes of Holocaust victims from 36 Nazi death camps. The museum also has an exhibit about neo-Nazism. This section shows examples of hateful writings from today that are against Jewish people.
