Memorialul Holocaustului

The Holocaust Memorial in Bucharest is dedicated to the victims of the Holocaust in Romania and was officially opened on October 8, 2009. It honors the memory of the more than 400,000 Jews and over 11,000 Roma who were deported or murdered during World War II under the regime of Ion Antonescu. The project was initiated in 2003 by the Center for Monitoring and Combating Anti-Semitism in Romania, before being taken over at the government level in 2004 and entrusted to the National Institute for the Study of the Holocaust. The foundation stone was laid on October 9, 2006, Romania's Holocaust Remembrance Day, by President Traian Băsescu.

Designed by the artist Peter Jacobi, the ensemble stands at the intersection of Anghel Saligny, Mihai Vodă, Ion Brezoianu, and Lipscani streets. On a site of just under 2,900 square meters that was previously a park, a massive concrete structure dominates, looking from a distance like the foundation of an unfinished building. As you approach, it turns out to be a structure set into a pit, reminiscent of a bunker. Wide stairs and a ramp provide barrier-free access down into the depths. Besides the central memorial, the complex includes five further sculptures, among them the 17-meter-high, 18-ton cast-iron memorial column, the Via Dolorosa, the Wheel of the Roma, the Star of David, and an epitaph.

The construction of the memorial was accompanied by controversy, especially when 32 trees were felled on the building site in 2009, which led to protests. As compensation, 125 new trees were planted in Izvor Park. The inauguration was a significant national event attended not only by the president but also by international ambassadors, the minister of culture, rabbis, and representatives of Jewish and Romani communities. Today the memorial serves as a central place of remembrance and commemoration in the Romanian capital.