reflection, education, remembrance
The Zekelman Holocaust Center
Designed to foster compassion, inspire justice, and ensure historical remembrance, the iconic institution has welcomed visitors since 2004. Its striking facade, with an angular, fragmented form, symbolizes the chaos and destruction of the Holocaust, immediately drawing attention. Twenty years later, Neumann/Smith revitalized its exhibits, integrating digital storytelling to engage and educate a new generation.
vision
Designed as an educational facility, this building honors the six million Jews killed during World War II while fostering a deeper understanding of tolerance. The vision was to create a space that evokes powerful emotions inside and out, inviting educators, students, and community members to reflect, learn, and engage—promoting empathy and reducing hate within the community and beyond.
detail
The exhibit connects the visitor with the experience of the Holocaust and its survivors. From a striped mural that emulates prisoners’ uniforms, six 15-foot glass pyramids—in remembrance of the six million Jews who perished—serve as skylights, and a dark hallway called “the abyss,” every detail evokes feeling.
secret
Accommodating both larger groups and individual visitors, the exhibit’s elevation shifts to reflect the emotional journey through Holocaust history. Ramps descend alongside stories of tragedy and despair, while a light-filled, upward-sloping hallway highlights Survivors’ accounts of resilience. At the journey’s end, a small window offers a poignant view—a tree grown from a sapling of the very one Anne Frank once gazed upon, symbolizing hope and remembrance.
