Avner Shalev - Chairman of
the Yad Vashem Directorate |
Two
generations have passed since the end of World War II. Today
we live in an age of information, instant communication and
progressive technology. The benefits to be garnered from the
free flow of heterogeneous information - which can be
overwhelming on a day-to-day basis - are counterbalanced by
an unavoidable side effect: the creation of short memories.
Young people today regard the past not in the sense of where
they have come from, but rather as a bygone series of events
which are "past," while they themselves are living
"post." This viewpoint is dangerous in that it is
disjunctive rather than connective.
In the face of cultural
universalism characteristic of an open-market economy,
hyper-consumerism, the world communications revolution and a
flood of boundary-reducing tourism, local cultures are struggling to maintain their own
uniqueness.
The generation that lived through the Holocaust is
dwindling. The presence of witnesses - the remnant who
survived - ensured a certain moral strength; their absence
creates a moral, cultural and educational vacuum.
What will be the fate of Holocaust commemoration among
members of the fourth generation, both Jewish and
non-Jewish? What place will it occupy in the midst of the
currents that are sweeping us along through the
third millenium? Will remembrance be meaningful in the
context of contemporary events? How should we prepare
ourselves at this historic juncture?
Such basic questions confronted Yad Vashem as we planned our
strategy to meet the challenges of the third millenium.
"Yad Vashem 2001" masterplan seeks to provide an
answer to both present and future aims and requirements.
In the spirit of the Jewish tradition of "Vehigadeta
Lebincha" ("And you will tell your
children"), Yad Vashem places a heavy emphasis on
educating the younger generations about the Holocaust. More
than ever before, today's youth are expressing a keen
interest in their own personal history and identity. We at
Yad Vashem have always believed that it is our
responsibility to provide Jewish youngsters with the history
of the Holocaust from a Jewish perspective. As we begin a
new century, Yad Vashem is addressing this need by
developing the tools needed to perpetuate the dialogue
between past, present and future. Today, new technologies
and display systems expand the horizons of communication.
The generation of the future is immersed in a world of
stimulating, high-impact media. We must relate to the
visitors of the 21st century in their language.
Every visitor leaves Yad Vashem with a personal impression
of an event that has universal dimensions.
Yad Vashem is the pioneer of Holocaust museums world-wide;
Yad Vashem 2001 carries on in this tradition. By preserving its Jewish
character within the universal context, and yet maintaining
an authentic voice composed of testimonies, diaries,
artifacts and other documentation, Yad Vashem paves the way
for a better future.
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