Veterans Memorial Buttonwood Park
Rockdale Ave. and Maple St.
New Bedford, MA 02740
This large stone and bronze sculpture is a somber memorial to the 6,000,000 Jews and millions of others murdered by the Nazis during the Holocaust. It features a large bronze hand reaching skyward from an inscribed stone pedestal. The pedestal is flanked by two large stone panels with inscriptions honoring those who were "murdered but never forgotten".
The New Bedford Holocaust Memorial was the long-held dream of Cantor Abraham Landau, a New Bedford resident and Holocaust Survivor. Cantor Landau provided the spiritual and historical force for the memorial project and was co-chair of the Memorial Committee. The number 141282 sculpted into the arm of the memorial is the same as was tattooed into Cantor Landau's own arm during the Holocaust.
The memorial was officially dedicated on May 3, 1998 (5758) and formally presented to the City of New Bedford by Edward Rudnick, a local businessman and co-chair of the Memorial Committee. It is located in a prominent area of Buttonwood Park as a solemn reminder to current and future generations.
The monument was designed by Dr. Peter London, Chairman of the Art Education Department at the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth and Memorial Committee co-chair. The hand was sculpted by artists Stacy Latt-Savage and Eric Lintala, Professors of Art at UMass-Dartmouth. The pedestal emplacement and stone cutting were coordinated by Thomas Rex of Rex Monument Works. The base and plaza was constructed by Julio Vasconcellos and his crew of artisans/masons.
The New Bedford Holocaust Memorial was an independent venture made possible by donations and volunteerism of over 500 individuals and organizations. The project was formally endorsed by the Jewish Federation of Greater New Bedford.
