Liberation Monument
Introduction
Text-to-speech Audio
Located in Liberty State Park, New Jersey the Liberation Monument is a 15-foot bronze statue in commemoration of the liberation of the Nazi death camps at the end of the war. The statue sits in view of the statue of liberty and has an inscription at the base that reads “Dedicated to America's Role of preserving Freedom and Rescuing the Oppressed, This Monument, by Nathan Rapoport, of an American Soldier Carrying a World War Two Concentration Camp Survivor Was Gifted to the State Of New Jersey Through the Generosity of Thousands of people of Good Will.”
Images
the inscription on the statue
Backstory and Context
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The statue was commissioned by the state of New Jersey in 1983 and was designed and sculpted by Nathan Rapoport. Mr. Rapoport born in 1911 escaped Warsaw, Poland to Russia and then to the US during World War 2 and has another famous sculpture depicting those lost in the Warsaw ghetto uprising which is currently located in Jerusalem. The statue cost 1 million dollars which were donated by private donors. The statue is supposed to stand for peace and freedom as seen by the lack of weapons on the soldier. The opening ceremony was attended by 3,000 people which had a mix of veterans and survivors.
Sources
Friedman, Mattew. Liberation Monument, Liberty State Park, NJ, Memorial Project. January 31st 2018. Accessed December 19th 2021. http://memorialproject.net/liberation-monument-liberty-state-park-nj/.
Laub, Karin. Unveil Statue Commemorating Liberation Of Concentration Camps, AP News. May 30th 1985. Accessed December 19th 2021. https://apnews.com/article/7477349e70558de8e2fa62fe46efd618.
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