Next stage in development  will bring project to completion

An artist’s rendering of the finished Holocaust Memorial.

The proposed Holocaust Memorial, to be built in downtown Providence, is about to pass another milestone. Plans have been finessed, added to and finalized. A chunk of funding has been raised. Now, it’s just about ready to be built.

And Herb Stern is feeling pretty good about all that. The project that got its start about 10 years ago has had to scale many hurdles. The faithful supporters, and a committee that may be the longest serving group in the Alliance, are looking at finally seeing some return on their investment of time and money. “The perseverance of this committee is to be commended, and the committee is grateful for Jeffrey Savit’s support,” he says.

This is a cause that Stern is passionate about. “I don’t think people understand the power of memorials,” he says. Memorials are evocative, provocative and they cause people to stop and remember.

That’s exactly what he’s hoping this memorial will do. “We have to remind people what hate leads to.” And he believes it’s an especially relevant cause today.

The memorial was Holocaust survivor David Newman’s idea. Stern jumped in to help when fundraising stalled. He says he embraced the need to memorialize the survivors, whose numbers have dwindled to fewer than 15 in Rhode Island as efforts to get the memorial built have continued.

But the plans, unveiled in early 2009, have been refined. The memorial will have Bluetooth technology built into it so that visitors can use a smartphone or tablet to learn more about the Holocaust at various points while visiting the site. It’s a new idea that will enhance the original plan. “But I believe this will become the paradigm for memorials,” says Stern. 

This technological component was a collaboration with Johnson & Wales University. Four students in a directed work experience class took on the research and development of this innovative way to give life to the memorial. Eric Beltram, Hayward Gatch, Wil Hall and Brandon Sciancalepore developed the application. 

The class was led by Jeffrey Teagen, who was coordinator of Academic Innovation at the time.

Via Bluetooth, visitors will connect to educational materials developed by the Holocaust Education and Resource Center of Rhode Island as well as to websites and Internet materials on the Holocaust.

The memorial was designed by artist Jonathan Bonner of Providence. It will give people a permanent place to reflect and learn and complement the work being done by HERCRI. The site is in Memorial Park along North Main Street, near the river.

“The next generation doesn’t have the same attachment” to the Holocaust, says Stern. This will help people remember. “It’s really a broad humanitarian issue.” 

Stern says the committee hopes to break ground in the next month and finish in time for Yom HaShoah 2015. The last $60,000 of the roughly $500,000 project is still needed for completion. Stern hopes individuals will come forward to make it happen.

“We get thousands of people on a WaterFire weekend” in downtown Providence, he says. “We want them to have this experience.” 

FRAN OSTENDORF is editor of The Jewish Voice.

EDITOR’S NOTE: For more information, contact Michelle Cicchitelli, director of Jewish Life at the Alliance (mcicchitelli@jewishallianceri.org) at 401-421-4111, ext. 178.