Recalling the Past, Realizing the Future
The "Yad Vashem 2001" Masterplan
By Avner Shalev, Chairman of the Yad Vashem Directorate

The Visitors Center, currently in the advanced stage of construction

The “Yad Vashem 2001” masterplan was conceived in 1993 following an in-depth appraisal of Yad Vashem's situation at the time, its ongoing projects and processes, and its expected needs pending the turn of the century. The assessment focused upon three main issues:  

• A. The generation of witnesses—survivors who experienced the Holocaust and whose presence morally validates the accelerating process of testimony-collecting and remembrance; 
  B. The conviction that members of the third and fourth generations will take a growing interest in the Holocaust ;
  C. The younger generation's increasing desire to have direct, up-to-date access to information on the Holocaust, due to the technological revolution.

The assessment prompted Yad Vashem to give priority to the development of new, modern educational conceptions and to computerize Yad Vashem’s repositories and make them available to the public. It also revealed the importance of building a new Museum Complex that would be able to handle twice the capacity of visitors (an increase from 1995's one million to two million at the close of the 20^th century). In addition, the appraisal indicated a need to promote new research and documentation initiatives that would contrast the Jewish sources and perspective on the Holocaust with those who planned and perpetrated the murders.

The Archives and Library building opened in March 2000

The appraisal led to the formation of the “Yad Vashem 2001” masterplan, which is comprised of six central elements: the construction of an Archives and Library building; the computerization of Holocaust victims’ names, documentation, and photographs; the establishment of an International School for Holocaust Studies; the establishment of a new Museum Complex; the expansion of scholarly research carried out under the auspices of the International Institute for Holocaust Research and its relocation to a newly renovated premises; and the construction of a new Visitors Center on Har Hazikkaron to accommodate the millions of visitors.

The "Yad Vashem 2001" masterplan was presented by the Chairman of the Yad Vashem Directorate to former Minister of Education, Professor Amnon Rubenstein, who, in turn, expressed his full support for the initiative.

To help make the plan a reality, Yad Vashem sought funding from three main sources: the Israeli Government, the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany, and individuals and companies. The total scale of the project was set at $82 million. Especially worthy of appreciation due to their fundraising efforts, without which the realization of the "Yad Vashem 2001" masterplan would not have been possible, are the American Society for Yad Vashem, headed by Eli Zborowski; Campaign Chairman of the "Yad Vashem 2001" masterplan, Joseph Wilf; and the Claims Conference, headed by Rabbi Dr. Israel Miller.

From the very outset of the implementation of the "Yad Vashem 2001" masterplan, Yad Vashem set out a fundamental, binding rule: the development and construction work must not prevent people from visiting and studying at Har Hazikkaron. One of the first decisions was to preserve the natural beauty of Har Hazikkaron's landscape and to position the new sites in such a way, so that visitors would follow a continuum, with the Hall of Remembrance in the center. Another decision was to design the Garden of the Righteous among the Nations and to ensure the eternal memorialization of all Righteous Among the Nations.

The International School for Holocaust Studies was designed and built in such a way so  as to allow Holocaust educators from Israel and abroad to be effectively trained in teaching and guiding their pupils and in developing curricular materials and teaching aids. Today, it is the only such school in the world, with about 100,000 students each year, and it serves as a world center for training teachers in Holocaust instruction.

The International School for Holocaust Studies inaugurated December 1999

The need for a new Museum Complex became evident based upon the facts that research and knowledge about the Holocaust have developed and have taken on greater depth in recent decades and the language of museum design, display, and technology has undergone major changes in recent years. Special sensitivity was given to the establishment of the new Museum Complex. It was decided in advance that the new Museum would not attempt to convey messages or teach lessons advocating a particular worldview, but would present the events objectively, based on the accrued research findings, testimonies, and the Jewish perspective. A decision was reached to create a Museum Complex that would include five elements: a historical exhibit, original art from the Holocaust period, temporary, rotating exhibitions and a large visual center and learning center. A team of experts comprising historians, museologists, educators, and public figures decided on the main points and details of the program.

Architects were invited to submit plans for the Museum Complex and Entrance Complex, and Moshe Safdie's work was chosen. His highly imaginative plan gave full assurance that the character of Yad Vashem's site and the beauty of the hill would be preserved.

In the midst of the planning, construction, and development process, Yad Vashem was approached by the Independent Committee of Eminent Persons headed by Paul Volcker—formed to deal with dormant Swiss bank accounts—to computerize Yad Vashem’s repository of names, the largest in the world. The computerization of Pages of Testimony of Holocaust victims was one of the most complex, sensitive operations ever carried out by Yad Vashem. For about five months, one thousand workers, most of them specially trained university students, worked daily in order to scan, decipher, and record the millions of Pages of Testimony, which had been filled in in dozens of languages. The task was managed by Tadiran Information Systems and Manpower, Inc. which used the IBM subsidiary Softel. In the end, more than 4 million names were transmitted to the Volcker Commission. Of these, about 3 million were the names of Holocaust victims; the rest were survivors and potential claimants. The entire database of names and its appendices were input into the Yad Vashem’s new, computerized central repository.

The "Yad Vashem 2001" masterplan is moving forward in accordance with the original plans. The International School for Holocaust Studies has moved into its new home; the Archives and Library, containing tens of millions of essential items and documents, have begun to function in their new location; the International Institute has moved into its newly renovated premises; the cornerstone has been laid for the new Museum Complex and the Hall of Names; construction of the Historical Museum has begun; and the Visitors Center is in the advanced stages of construction. In the coming year, the computer and data-retrieval systems will be fully operational, and the computerized central repository of names will be posted on Yad Vashem’s website.

Yad Vashem Jerusalem is thus prepared to enter the 21st century and to continue to fulfill the mission of commemoration, documentation, education, and remembrance that will be the lot of the Jewish people and the State of Israel for generations.