Children's Memorial, Yad Vashem, Memorial building at Yad Vashem, Israel

The Children's Memorial is a hall beneath a rock at Yad Vashem, designed by Moshe Safdie. Its entrance area holds several white, broken-off stelae of different heights, symbolising lives cut short. The main room is completely mirrored and reflects the light of five candles, producing the illusion of space for the roughly 1.5 million children and young people who died in the Holocaust.

The memorial was erected in 1987, designed by architect Moshe Safdie, on the grounds of Yad Vashem near Mount Herzl in Jerusalem. It commemorates the approximately 1.5 million Jewish children and young people killed under Nazi rule. The name Yad Vashem comes from Isaiah 56:5, a verse about an eternal name that will never be erased.

The space holds deep meaning for visitors who pause to listen as names of deceased children are continuously read aloud throughout the day. This practice honors each individual child and makes their memory felt in a personal, direct way.

Entry is through a natural rock archway that leads to a ramp descending into the underground chamber. Plan time to spend quietly inside as names are read continuously throughout the visit.

The memorial features a continuous audio recording that reads the names, ages, and origins of each child, with the complete list taking approximately three months to play through entirely. This extended timeline gives visitors a sense of the vast number of lives lost.