The origins of the centre can be traced back to 1994. There was major public interest in an
Anne Frank exhibition that opened in Johannesburg in August of that year. President
Nelson Mandela and Archbishop
Desmond Tutu attended the opening. The centre partnered with the
City of Johannesburg to choose a location for the site. The sisters bequeathed the property to the City on the condition that it be used as a museum or art gallery.
Architecture The centre was designed by architect, Lewis Levin, who informed his plans by having discussions with survivors of the Holocaust and the 1994 Genocide Against the Tutsi in Rwanda. Railway lines surround the building, drawing images of the Holocaust victims that were deported by train to concentration camps. The lines are not straight and are reflected in the water of the pond and end in the sky, intended to show the endlessness of genocide.The yellowwood and Silver Birch trees also symbolise forests, as Jews and others were also murdered in forests and otherwise picturesque European landscapes. Likewise, the 1994 Genocide Against the Tutsi in Rwanda took place amid lush, natural landscapes. The hard, abrasive materials are also left exposed to highlight the harsh realities of these genocides. The burned red and blackened bricks are laid in ‘English Bond’ style, brickwork that can also be found in the ruins of the gas chambers and barracks of
Auschwitz-
Birkenau. The cobblestones on the ground represent the cobbled streets of many European cities. The large, rectangular granite slabs evoke tombstones and are symbolise the nameless victims and their unmarked graves. A memorial wall contains the names of child victims from the Holocaust and the 1994 Genocide Against the Tutsi in Rwanda.
Permanent exhibition The exhibition of the Holocaust includes interviews with seven Holocaust survivors that emigrated to South Africa and
Pretoria resident, Jaap van Proosdij, who saved dozens of Jews. ==References==