Yad Vashem Memorial

Yad Vashem

יָד וַשֵׁם
Aerial view of Yad Vashem
Established	1953
Location	On the western slope of Mount Herzl, also known as the Mount of Remembrance, a height in western Jerusalem, Israel.
Type	Israel's official memorial to the victims of the Holocaust.
Visitors	One million per year.
Website	yadvashem.org

Yad Vashem (Hebrew: יָד וַשֵׁם‎) is Israel's official memorial to the victims of the Holocaust. It is dedicated to preserving the memory of the dead; honouring Jews who fought against their Nazi oppressors and Gentiles who selflessly aided Jews in need; and researching the phenomenon of the Holocaust in particular and genocide in general, with the aim of avoiding such events in the future.

Established in 1953, Yad Vashem is on the western slope of Mount Herzl, also known as the Mount of Remembrance, a height in western Jerusalem, 804 meters (2,638 ft) above sea level and adjacent to the Jerusalem Forest. The memorial consists of a 180-dunam (18.0 ha; 44.5-acre) complex containing the Holocaust History Museum, memorial sites such as the Children's Memorial and the Hall of Remembrance, the Museum of Holocaust Art, sculptures, outdoor commemorative sites such as the Valley of the Communities, a synagogue, a research institute with archives, a library, a publishing house, and an educational center, the International School/Institute for Holocaust Studies.

A core goal of Yad Vashem's founders was to recognize Gentiles who, at personal risk and without a financial or evangelistic motive, chose to save their Jewish brethren from the ongoing genocide during the Holocaust. Those recognized by Israel as Righteous Among the Nations are honored in a section of Yad Vashem known as the Garden of the Righteous Among the Nations.

After the Western Wall, Yad Vashem is the second-most-visited Israeli tourist site. Its curators do not charge any fee for admission, and welcome approximately one million visitors a year.