Women of the Shoah –
Jewish Placemaking
combines art as social practice to allow our communities to reflect upon, honor and learn from the plight of the women and children who perished in the Holocaust (Shoah).
Holocaust Education & Jewish Placemaking
North Carolina’s first and only women’s Holocaust monument, an original sculpture by artist Victoria Milstein, will honor the strength and resilience of all women. The Monument will be a community placemaking experience in Greensboro, NC for the public not only to remember the Holocaust but to have a place for impactful Holocaust education. Honoring those who perished, the Monument will convey a powerful statement against the murder of women and children, antisemitism, genocide and all hate. The Monument will be 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.
What We Do
- Organize and catalyze community, business leaders, and Holocaust survivors and their families to build public Monuments honoring the spirit of humanity in the women and children of the Holocaust
- Create public art that provides for social engagement and encourages reflection, understanding and compassion in our diverse communities
- Educate, inform and transform the viewer’s perspective on the Holocaust, antisemitism, racism and all genocide of women and children
- Recognize the timely need to memorialize and teach the history of the Holocaust for the next generation as eyewitness survivors age, and allow our communities to become witnesses themselves to the horrors of the Shoah
The Story of our First Monument
Is This For Us?
Clay model ready for bronzing
“She Wouldn’t Take Off Her Boots”
In Honor of Brave Mothers EVA WEINER and SOFIA GURAlNIK
Building upon the 77th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz and the end of the Holocaust, “She Wouldn’t Take Off Her Boots” will be North Carolina’s first Women’s Holocaust Monument. This original sculpture by artist Victoria Milstein will honor the strength and resilience of all women. It will be beautifully situated in Greensboro’s LeBauer Park, becoming a “place-making” community experience for all.
Story of the Monument
THE INSPIRATION
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 strip to their underclothes 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 our first 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
Building upon the 77th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz and the end of the Holocaust, “She Wouldn’t Take Off Her Boots” will be North Carolina’s First Women’s Holocaust Monument. This original sculpture by artist Victoria Milstein will honor the strength and resilience of all women. It will be beautifully situated in Greensboro’s LeBauer Park, becoming a “place-making” community experience for all. A portion of the Monument will be made from EConcrete, an Israeli based technology, that serves to tie the Holocaust to the land of Israel.
Story of the Monument
THE INSPIRATION
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 strip to their underclothes 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 our first Monument, “She Wouldn’t Take Off Her Boots”.
News & Events
Women of the Shoah Blog
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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517 S Elm St.
Greensboro, NC 27406
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