The Memorial for the Last of Kin, located on Mount Herzl in Jerusalem, is a monument to the Israeli soldiers who were the last remaining members of their families. These soldiers were mostly Holocaust survivors who came to Israel without any relatives. They fought and died for their new country, leaving no one to remember them.
Zippora Feige
Credit: Farok, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
About the Monument
The memorial was designed by the sculptor Micha Ullman and was inaugurated in 2004. It consists of two parts: a board with the names of the fallen soldiers and a sculpture of a reversed house. The board is shaped like a roof, symbolizing the protection that the soldiers gave to Israel, while the reversed house represents the emptiness that they left behind.
Credit: Ori~, Attribution, via Wikimedia Commons
The memorial is located on the Memory Path, which connects Mount Herzl to Yad Vashem. This path is a symbolic journey from the Holocaust to the rebirth of the State of Israel. The Memorial for the Last of Kin stands as a reminder that the Holocaust was not just a historical event but a direct impact on the founding of Israel.
Mount Herzl
Every year, on the day before Israel’s Memorial Day for its Fallen Soldiers, a small ceremony is held at the Memorial for the Last of Kin. The individuals who attend this ceremony are compelled to come because these soldiers have no relatives to remember them. They recount the life stories of these fallen souls, pray by their graves, and remember them.
War of Independence
The Memorial for the Last of Kin is a powerful and moving reminder of the sacrifices made to build and defend the State of Israel. It is a place where we can honor the memory of those who gave their lives for their country, even though they had no family to leave behind.
