Originally published in the Spring 2022 edition of the Virginia Defender, issue 68, printed April 21. Reproduced here for accessibility and archival purposes. To find other stories in the Spring 2022 issue or to download the full PDF, see this post. For other issues dating back to 2012, see the Full Issues page.

The Virginia Holocaust Museum has announced the opening of a new exhibit honoring the memory of the 1.5 million Jewish children who perished in the Holocaust. According to the museum, this addition to the VHM’s permanent collection is the first memorial of its kind in the United States.

Using mirrors and somber lighting for dramatic effect, the Children’s Memorial creates a stunning visual of an infinite panorama of empty classroom desks representing the unfathomable number of children and their unborn descendants who were victims of the Nazis’ Final Solution to exterminate Jews from Europe.

“It’s truly impossible to comprehend that over a million innocent children were murdered by the Nazi regime,” said Samuel Asher, the museum’s executive director. “We wanted to create an exhibition that works simultaneously as a memorial and also provides space for reflecting on the enormity of the genocide.”

The exhibit was designed by the Richmond-based firm Riggs Ward and made possible through donations by Dr. Donald S. and Beejay Brown.

The Virginia Holocaust Museum, located at 2000 E. Cary St. in Richmond, is free and open to the public. Hours are Monday-Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

For more information, see the Virginia Holocaust Museum webpage.