| Horwitz-Wasserman Holocaust Memorial Plaza | |
| Parent Organization: | Philadelphia Holocaust Remembrance Foundation |
| Formation: | 1964 |
| Location: | N. 16th Street and Benjamin Franklin Parkway, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 19103 |
| Leader Title: | Co-Chairs |
| Leader Name: | Matthew Pestronk, Jacob Reiter |
| Leader Title2: | Treasurer |
| Leader Name2: | Jared Szychter |
| Leader Title3: | Secretary |
| Leader Name3: | Steven J. Kessler |
| Leader Title4: | Vice Chairs |
| Leader Name4: | David J. Adelman, Corie Moskow |
The Horwitz-Wasserman Holocaust Memorial Plaza is a Holocaust memorial park located at the intersection of the Benjamin Franklin Parkway, 16th Street and Arch Street in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The plaza includes the Monument to the Six Million Jewish Martyrs, which was dedicated in 1964,[1] as well as several new elements that were added in the plaza’s significant 2018 expansion.
On April 26, 1964, the Association of Jewish New Americans, a Philadelphia survivor organization, and the Federation of Jewish Agencies of Greater Philadelphia dedicated the Monument to the Six Million Martyrs, “arguably the first public Holocaust memorial” in the United States.[2] Designed by Nathan Rapoport, the monument depicts the flame of a burning bush with several bodies writhing in suffering. One pair of hands is shown holding a Torah scroll, while fists clutch daggers near the top of the sculpture as a symbol of resistance.[3] The monument pays homage to the biblical burning bush in Exodus, which blazed with fire, but was not consumed, and through which God promised to rescue the Jewish people.[4]
The Philadelphia Holocaust Remembrance Foundation worked on preserving the existing monument and redeveloping the site around it with historical artifacts and educational elements.
The expanded plaza was completed in October 2018.
On 14 January 2024, the memorial was defaced with a swastika.[5]
In addition to the Monument to the Six Million Jewish Martyrs, the Plaza’s interpretive elements include:
The plaza also features multimedia content via IWalk, a USC Shoah Foundation-developed mobile app.[9]
According to the Philadelphia Holocaust Remembrance Foundation, the plaza is designed to highlight the dangers of totalitarianism and how it can be prevented in America through fidelity to the Constitution of the United States.[7]