Oregon Holocaust Memorial, War memorial in Washington Park, Portland, United States.
The Oregon Holocaust Memorial is a monument in Washington Park featuring a stone bench, wrought iron gates, and bronze sculptures depicting shoes, glasses, and suitcases arranged around a cobblestone circle. Historical panels and inscriptions create a space for reflection and remembrance.
The memorial was dedicated on August 29, 2004. The idea was proposed in 1994 by Alice Kern and a local group of Holocaust survivors who met through the Oregon Holocaust Resource Center. Construction, estimated at $800,000, was delayed for several years by land use appeals from the Arlington Heights neighborhood, which reached the Oregon Supreme Court. The memorial was vandalized in 2021.
The memorial features inscriptions in multiple languages and honors survivors and victims with ties to Oregon and Southwest Washington. Visitors can read personal accounts that connect the place to the local community.
The memorial stands in Washington Park, owned by the American Jewish Committee and maintained by the Oregon Holocaust Resource Center. Fodor's lists it as open daily from dawn to dusk with free admission. The cobblestone walkway and granite bars lead from the city-square circle to the curved wall, so allow time to read the bronze survivor quotes and the black marble panels at both ends.
At the wall's right end, beneath a sunken rock, soil and ash from six extermination camps were interred: Chełmno, Treblinka, Sobibor, Bełżec, Majdanek and Auschwitz-Birkenau. Local residents brought the material back, and a black marble plaque beside the rock records the burial.
The community of curious travelers
AroundUs brings together thousands of curated places, local tips, and hidden gems, enriched daily by 94,019 contributors worldwide.