I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction

Behold, I have refined thee but not with silver; I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction. Isiah 48.10

As we mark the anniversary of the birth of one of Austria's most celebrated sons let us also remember that today is Holocaust Memorial Day. Hitler was born in Braunau, Austria in 1889, and his regime murdered six million Jews and many others. Auschwitz, the largest of the Nazi camps, where 1.1 million people died, was liberated by the advancing Soviet army on 27 January 1945.

The photograph above is of the new Holocaust Memorial in Berlin by American Architect Peter Eisenmann. It was inspired by Prague's Jewish Cemetery with its closely packed gravestones, and comprises 2700 grey slabs. The photo was taken by me from where the Berlin Wall once stood and looks across to the centre of the former East Berlin, Alexanderplatz. It is from my recent photo essay I am a camera - Berlin.

Holocaust Memorial Day is usually held on 27th January to mark the liberation of Auschwitz. This year the Memorial Day has been moved forward a day to avoid the Jewish Sabbath.
Report broken links, missing images and other errors to - overgrownpath at hotmail dot co dot uk
Image credit - Pliable, taken in Berlin November 2005 using Nikon F-50 SLR
In memory of the victims of war take An Overgrown Path to The radiance of a thousand suns, I am a camera - Dresden, I am a camera - Berlin, Dreden 1945 - London 2005 and Holocaust opera's rare performance.

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