The National Holocaust Monument and the IWalk Experience

By Roberta Goldmaker

The National Holocaust Monument, entitled Landscape of Loss, Memory, and Survival, is situated in Ottawa, but stands as a reminder to all Canadians “to ensure that the lessons of the Holocaust as well as the contribution Holocaust survivors have made to Canada remain within the national consciousness for generations to come.” This mission statement was set out in September 2017 as the Holocaust Monument was being inaugurated by the Government of Canada. The Monument was designed by world-renowned architect Daniel Libeskind and is in the shape of a six-pointed star representing a particular point of view at each segment.

The Monument has the untapped potential to reach and teach tens of thousands of students and tourists about the Holocaust with an emphasis on the role antisemitism played in the Holocaust and the dangers posed by hate and antisemitism today.

To amplify this potential, CHES and Liberation75 have joined with the USC Shoah Foundation to create an ambitious, interactive IWalk App to encourage student groups and tourists to visit the Monument and to educate themselves about the reality of the Holocaust and its aftereffects. The IWalk App will combine the physical experience of the Monument with virtual interactive experiences that expand visitors’ understanding of the history of the Holocaust and the experiences of Canadian Holocaust survivors. As well, this App has the potential to make visiting the Monument a Canada-wide experience.

Experiencing the IWalk

In passing through the main entrance of the Monument, we will be introduced to the physicality of the space itself and its significance. After walking into the space, we will notice blue information panels situated on the far wall. The information on these panels, along with other historical facts, will be enhanced by additional details on the IWalk App. This will include testimonials by Canadian Holocaust survivors who lived the experience. Their voices will reinforce that what they describe did in fact happen. It is one thing to read about the Holocaust, but to hear the words themselves through the I Walk App will be moving and thought-provoking.

Continuing our walk through the Monument, we will notice images of concentration camps as well as the train tracks which transported ‘the prisoners’ etched on the walls. The App will explain these images and will be accompanied by the testimonies of Holocaust survivors who remind us of their plight as well as their great strength.

There will be so much to see and hear as we tour the Monument. This is an experience upon which we will reflect as we reach the Flame of Remembrance, and we will ask ourselves the questions engendered by the IWalk experience.  Zachor: You shall remember.

CHES thanks the Canadian Race Relation Foundation, Maspik, and JNF Canada for their support for the IWalk project.