A Sculpture of Love and Anguish: The Holocaust Memorial, Miami Beach

WPBT-TV (Television station : Miami, Fla.) · April 23, 1998

"The documentary, A Sculpture of Love and Anguish, tells the story of the Holocaust Memorial located in Miami Beach, Florida which is dedicated to the memory of the six million Jewish victims of the Holocaust. The documentary was narrated by Chaim Topol, a renowned actor and singer who was nominated for an Academy Award for his portrayal of Tevye in Fiddler on the Roof. The introduction is by Nobel Prize Laureate Elie Wiesel. Designed by sculptor Kenneth Treister, the Memorial has become internationally renowned for its ability to convey both the horror of the Holocaust and yet the beauty and dignity of the individuals who perished. This documentary is about a work of public art and how art, in this instance a sculpture garden, can amplify a community's feelings about a historic event. This documentary also is an educational program that arouses an interest in the history of the Holocaust and the importance of art as a tool for learning. Produced is the United States by Kenneth Treister and Judge Leaonard Braman, A Sculpture of Love and Anguish reveals the five year process in creating the Memorial; the artistry of its design; the forging of its sculptures in Mexico; and the symbolic relationship between its natural elements'palms, bougainvillea; and water lilies; and its sculpture and architecture. These elements are combined subtly yet powerfully to communicate despair with hope'death and rebirth. A Sculpture of Love and Anguish enumerates the Memorial's subtle details that, when combined, create an experience that is emotionally overwhelming. From the irony of placing Anne Frank's statement about human nature behind a statue depicting a scene of tender love'to the railroad-track shadow cast by the arbor on the walls bearing the victim's names'the program reveals how the Memorial is able to recount the experience of the Holocaust in all its complexity while remembering the victims in a beautiful way. The documentary highlights the Memorial's goal of not only remembering the deaths of six million people, but also honoring the life of each individual victim and the ending of 2,000 years of the Jewish civilization in Europe. In the documentary, Treister notes, 'The Memorial is a beautiful garden in honor of beautiful people, remembered in how they lived and not how they died. A Sculpture of Love and Anguish captures the beauty and drama of the memorial and is a fitting tribute to the memory of those who died."--1998 Peabody Awards entry form.