The Memorial to the Six Million, a Holocaust memorial site located at Greenwood Cemetery in southwest Atlanta, has been given an excellence in restoration award by the Georgia Trust for Historical Preservation.
The Memorial to the Six Million is the first of its kind to be constructed in Georgia and the first three-dimensional Holocaust memorial in the United States. It underwent a renovation in 2024, returning the memorial to its intended appearance, and ensuring its continued role as a sacred place for Holocaust Memorial Day observances and High Holy Day ceremonies, a press release stated.
Weather and deferred maintenance had led to the deterioration of the masonry on the 62-year-old Memorial to the Six Million – a site listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Led by Savannah-based Landmark Preservation, the restoration project repaired stone walls, improved accessibility, and upgraded torch lights and eternal flame systems.
Karen Lansky Edlin, the daughter of Holocaust survivors and memorial founders Lola and Rubin Lansky, manages the memorial and its nonprofit foundation, Eternal Life-Hemshech.
In 1964, the Lanskys put an ad in the newspaper to meet other survivors. The goal was to erect a physical memorial in part because there were no gravesites for those who perished in the Holocaust. Georgia Tech graduate and architect Ben Hirsch designed the memorial.
The Memorial to the Six Million is the first of its kind to be constructed in Georgia, and the first three-dimensional Holocaust memorial in the United States.
“By restoring the memorial, we give lasting thanks to the survivors who built, designed, and raised the money amongst themselves in order to pass along this legacy. The memorial will continue to be a place of memory, education and remembrance. It’s a gift left to the Atlanta community and the state of Georgia,” said Edlin. “The award that was given by the Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation for excellence in preservation validates the efforts of everyone involved in the restoration process. The members of Eternal Life-Hemshech, the many donors to this project and Landmark Preservation are so honored by this recognition.”
David Yoakley Mitchell, executive director of Atlanta Preservation Center, said Historic Preservation Month in May is the time to appreciate the value of America’s historic places as definers of our national character.
“Understanding how to retain historic character and cultural diversity should be embraced as a universal goal, and we are all indebted to those who had the foresight and self-determination to protect and steward the interests of the citizens of Atlanta and all its contributing and significant neighborhoods and sites. That is why the award for the Memorial to the Six Million at Greenwood Cemetery is needed now more than ever,” Mitchell said.
The Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation presented the award during its 49th annual ceremony in Marietta on April 27.
