The Holocaust Memorial Plaza in Philadelphia stands at the intersection of many cultures and tongues.
The triangular plaza is bordered by Benjamin Franklin Parkway, the grand boulevard inspired by the Champs-Élysées, bearing the flags of 108 countries and Puerto Rico. Where Sixteenth and Arch Streets meet is sculptor Nathan Rapaport’s 18-foot, Monument to Six Million Martyrs — often cited as the first public memorial to the Holocaust in the U.S.
The monument, commissioned by local Holocaust survivors, is a bronze tower of thrusting arms, some felled by Nazis, others resplendent with swords, was dedicated in 1964 and regularly hosts Yom HaShoah memorials. In 2018 the Philadelphia Holocaust Remembrance Foundation expanded the plaza for its education initiatives. On the site now, there are train tracks from Treblinka and a sapling taken from a tree planted by Jewish children in Theresienstadt…