
One of the most moving places on the planet is the Yad Vashem Holocaust Remembrance Center in Jerusalem. The sprawling campus contains a world-class museum, a children’s memorial, a research and educational center, a hall of remembrance, a tribute to the “Righteous among the Nations” (those who risked their lives to save Jews during the Holocaust), and several other other exhibits.
On our upcoming tour, we will spend the good part of a day visiting this incredible place. I have toured it multiple times, and was honored to spend over a week with Christian leaders from around the globe, gathered under the tutelage of the world’s most prominent Holocaust experts, in an intensive Holocaust seminar.
What takes place there is also significant. I’ve never been to Yad Vashem when there were not large groups of Israeli soldiers there, learning in great depth about the causes and the history of the Holocaust, and why they must fight to the death to preserve their beloved nation.
Another very moving experience is to witness a reunion of Holocaust survivors with those who saved them from death. Those are the most emotional reunions one can ever imagine. Unfortunately, survivors and those who saved them are reaching the end of life and few able-bodied survivors and rescuers remain. (The youngest are in their late-70’s.) Sadly, the reunions are becoming far and few between, and will likely cease to take place very soon.
I want to share one such reunion with you. Recently, the Mordechai family (including descendants of survivors) was reunited with 92-year-old Melpomeni Dina, a Greek woman whose family sheltered and provided for the Mordechai’s during the mid-1940’s. The Holocaust was taking its toll as the Nazi regime proceeded to kill off 6 million European Jews.
Read more about that reunion in “Now I Can Die Quietly.”
Follow along as we visit Israel soon! As time allows, I will provide tour updates, including our visit to Yad Vashem.
What a wonderful story about the reunion of Mordechai’s family and Melpomeni Dina! I am looking forward to visiting this museum once I get over there.
There is nowhere else on the planet like it, and it is a “must see” on any trip to Israel. I hope you get there soon!