The New Hall of Names (which is part of the New Museum Complex), is being built through the generous assistance of the Caesarea Edmond Benjamin de Rothschild Foundation under the Chairmanship of Benjamin de Rothschild. It will store the more than three million names of Jewish Holocaust victims inscribed on Pages of Testimony. and computerized at Yad Vashem. The information will be accessible through computer terminals situated in a room adjacent to the main area of the Hall of Names, as well as in the new Learning Center.

The Hall of Names has three sections: the Gnizah, the Hall of Memory, and the computer database access area. The Gnizah and the Hall of Memory constitute the building’s main part.

The Hall of Memory, situated in the building’s center, is also the building’s core. In the Hall of Memory, two cones form a continuum of space; one cone is directed downward, towards the ground, the other cone is directed upward, towards the sky. Faces of victims will appear on a background of Pages of Testimony and will be superimposed on a glass frame on the cone reaching upward. In contrast, the surface of the 11 meter-long cone reaching to the ground will be crude, consisting of the rock and earth revealed at the excavation.

The cones face opposite directions. In the circular space created in their center, an elevated platform will be situated from which viewers can see  the victims’ faces.  Interpretations of this memorial space vary. It is seen by some as a memorial candle whose light is eternal. Others perceive it as a well deep in the ground, from which the victims’ cries are echoed and their faces reflected. No matter how many different meanings the structure has to different people, one thing is certain; this space will evoke powerful images within the visitor.  

Encircling the area where the two cones meet, is a ring-shaped area that forms the Gnizah, that will house the original Pages of Testimony. Visitors will not have direct access to this area, but will be able to see it from the platform. In an adjacent room, visitors can conduct name searches. The Gnizah can be seen as a symbolic cemetery for the victims deprived of a grave and a tombstone. The deceased person’s name, place and date of birth and death, traditionally carved on marble, will be written here in ink on the Pages of Testimony.

Yad Vashem officials are determined to complete the sacred work of burying, at least symbolically, the Holocaust’s six million Jewish dead in its Hall of Names.