The British Government has given the go-ahead for architect David Adjaye to build a national memorial to the victim of the Holocaust. The structure will be sited next to the Houses of Parliament in London.
The plan for the memorial calls for 23 large bronze sculptures, with the spaces in between meant to commemorate the Jewish communities devastated by the Holocaust in 22 countries. The site will also include an underground educational center. “The Memorial and Learning Center will allow everyone to reflect, remember, and honor those who suffered and died, and to educate future generations in antisemitism,” said Robert Jenrick, the U.K.’s communities secretary.
The learning center beneath the site will educate visitors about the Holocaust, as well as subsequent genocides in Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia and Darfur.
Construction is slated to begin later this year, and will be completed by 2025. The U.K. Government is contributing $105 million to build the memorial, and an additional $35 million has been raised through donations. The government will also give supplemental funding to cover the costs of running the site, and to ensure that entry remains free.
“There will be something uniquely powerful about locating a memorial to the Holocaust right next to the center of the U.K.’s democracy,” president of the Board of British Jews Marie van der Zyl said in a statement.
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