The Memorial for the Last of Kin commemorates Jews who survived the Holocaust but later died in the 1948 Arab–Israeli war without any surviving family to claim them. The site stands on Mount Herzl in Jerusalem, located on the memory path that connects the National Military and Police Cemetery to Yad Vashem. Its official coordinates are available via the memorial information link: coordinates.

Description

Designed and installed in 2004 by the Israeli sculptor Micha Ullman, the memorial is composed of two distinct elements placed in deliberate relation. One element is a flat panel shaped suggestively like a roof, on which names are inscribed. Adjacent to it is a sculptural form described as a "reverse house": a volumetric piece that emphasizes voids and turned-away surfaces rather than a conventional dwelling. Together these parts create a restrained composition that directs attention to absence, loss and the individuality of those remembered.

Context and purpose

The title "Last of Kin" refers to people who had no next of kin remaining after the Holocaust and who later fell in Israel’s 1948 war. The memorial serves a dual purpose: to register these individuals within the national landscape of remembrance and to provide a focal point for visitors walking between the state cemetery and the central Holocaust memorial. It makes visible a group of deceased who otherwise might lack a personal gravesite or family commemoration.

Artist and symbolism

Micha Ullman is known for minimalist works that often explore memory, absence and the relationship between built form and emptiness. While this monument is understated in scale and detail, its roof-like board with inscribed names and the counter-form of the reversed house together use architectural suggestion to evoke home, uprooting and lack. The choice to render names on the surface links the abstract sculptural idea to the individual lives it honors.

Visiting and significance

The memorial is accessible along the Mount Herzl memory path and is often visited in conjunction with Yad Vashem and the military cemetery. It is intended for quiet reflection rather than public ceremonial display, and it contributes to Israel’s broader landscape of remembrance by acknowledging those who have no surviving relatives. For general site information see the memorial entry: memorial site, Mount Herzl details: Mount Herzl, the city context: Jerusalem, and the nearby central Holocaust museum: Yad Vashem.

  • Artist: Micha Ullman
  • Year: 2004
  • Location: Mount Herzl memory path, Jerusalem (map)
  • Purpose: Commemoration of Holocaust survivors who died in 1948 with no family