On December 15th, 1941 during the Holocaust, Jews were rounded up on a beach in Liepāja, Latvia and slaughtered. Women were forcibly deprived of their clothing and their dignity, then mercilessly executed. Their lifeless bodies thrown into a pit. Nazi photographers documented the horrors.
On October 7th, 2023, Jews were rounded up on a field outside of Kibbutz Re’im, Israel and slaughtered. Women were forcibly deprived of their clothing and their dignity, then mercilessly executed. Their lifeless bodies piled into a tent. Hamas terrorists documented the horrors. The terrorists continued their rampage thoughout Israel.
Women of the Shoah’s Monument, “She Wouldn’t Take Off Her Boots,” commemorates the women and children who endured this inhumane treatment on that beach in Liepāja in 1941. The artwork documents and re-imagines this terrible moment in history so that we can ensure it never happens again. On October 7th, 2023, it did. The massacre this week was the most loss of Jewish life since the Holocaust.
Women of The Shoah stands up for Jewish women yesterday, today, and tomorrow, and we stand solidly with Israel.
Stand up with us.
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Visit the monument “She Wouldn’t Take Off Her Boots” to learn about this history and to see the unprecedented parallels between then and now:
“She Wouldn’t Take Off Her Boots”
North Carolina’s Holocaust monument dedicated to the women and children who endured or perished in the Holocaust
In Liepāja, Latvia, on December 15, 1941, thousands of Jewish women and children were taken to the women’s prison where they were forced to stripped and shot dead in groups of 10. Many of the victims were photographed in their final moments by a Nazi photographer. One such photograph serves as the inspiration for the Monument, “She Wouldn’t Take Off Her Boots.”
The Monument is North Carolina’s first Women’s Holocaust memorial. This original sculpture by artist Victoria Milstein honors the strength and resilience of all women. It is beautifully situated in Greensboro’s LeBauer Park, becoming a “place-making” community experience for all.
The monument is named in honor of Eva Weiner and Sofia Guralnik, the brave women who saved their children, Shelly Weiner and Raya Kizhnerman, by hiding them in Nazi-occupied Poland for almost two years. Shelly, now a resident of Greensboro, has graciously contributed the lead gift that has enabled this project to proceed.
An interdisciplinary way of learning through:
1. An on-site tour of the Holocaust Memorial Monument “She Wouldn’t Take Off Her Boots.”
2. The full-length film “She Wouldn’t Take Off Her Boots”
3. High school curriculum developed by the Holocaust Council of North Carolina with the artist.
The Story of the Monument
The Liepāja Massacre
In Latvia on Monday, Dec. 15, 1941, thousands of Jewish women, and children were taken to the women’s prison in Liepāja. From there, in the freezing cold, they were marched to a nearby beach called Skede, forced to strip to their underclothes, taken to the edge of a trench and shot dead in groups of 10. Many of the victims were photographed in their final moments by a Nazi photographer. One such photograph serves as the basis for the Women of the Shoah – Jewish Placemaking monument “She Wouldn’t Take Off Her Boots”.
“She Wouldn’t Take Off Her Boots”
In Honor of Brave Mothers EVA WEINER and SOFIA GURAlNIK
North Carolina’s first and only women’s Holocaust monument, an original sculpture by artist Victoria Milstein, honors the strength and resilience of all women. The Monument is a community placemaking experience in Greensboro, N.C. for the public not only to remember the Holocaust but to have a place for impactful Holocaust education. Honoring those who perished, the Monument conveys a powerful statement against the murder of women and children, antisemitism, genocide and all hate. The Monument is art that requires social engagement and the participation of its audience: the act of looking through the camera, where the spectator becomes a witness, to see and feel the opposite of what the Nazi photographer was documenting. The Monument “She Wouldn’t Take Off Her Boots”, the memorial of the December 15th, 1941 Liepāja massacre, is a voice for women and children
which says …. We will put our boots on…. We will resist …. We will be the witness …. Arm in arm… We will build a more just society for all communities.
Women of the Shoah
Women of the Shoah engages the community, Holocaust survivors, and their families to build this memorial monument to educate and transform our perspective on the Holocaust, antisemitism, racism, and the genocide of women and children.
News & Events
Women of the Shoah Blog
Students are now able to visit North Carolina’s first and only women’s Holocaust memorial
The article was originally published in EdNC.org and was written by Alli Lindenberg. While walking down Elm Street in Greensboro, it’s hard to miss the iconic civil rights museum, housed in the old Woolworth’s where the N.C. A&T four launched the sit-in movement...
City of Greensboro unveils new memorial to honor victims of genocide
This article was originally published on WXII12.com GREENSBORO, N.C. —The city of Greensboro unveiled a new memorial to honor the victims of genocide Tuesday at Lebauer Park. The statue titled "She wouldn't take off her boots" is based on a photo of a Jewish woman who...
“She wouldn’t take off her boots” is North Carolina’s first Holocaust memorial
The article was originally published in YES Weekly and was written by Ian McDowell. The four adult Jewish women face the Nazi camera, their arms linked. They know they are going to be murdered. The young girl huddled against her mother possibly does not. In the center...
Holocaust memorial dedicated to women erected in Greensboro
This article was originally published on Fox8 and was written by Dolan Reynolds and Bob Buckley. GREENSBORO, N.C. (WGHP) — There are some parts of history that are very difficult for most people to truly understand. The Holocaust is one of them. Artist Victoria...
North Carolina’s first Women’s Holocaust Monument unveiled in Greensboro
Originally published on WFMYnews2.com GREENSBORO, N.C. — North Carolina's first and only women's Holocaust memorial now resides in Greensboro. The monument entitled "She Wouldn't Take Off Her Boots" was unveiled in LeBauer Park Tuesday. It was inspired by the Liepāja...
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