About Us

Mission Statement:
To perpetuate the memory of the Six Million Jewish victims murdered in the genocide known as the Holocaust; to maintain the Memorial to the Six Million in Atlanta’s Greenwood Cemetery in perpetuity; to use the Memorial to document, bear witness and repeatedly tell the story of this monument and its meaning in the context of Jewish history; to keep alive the memories of the Six Million and Atlanta’s Survivors by building awareness of and observing special events at the Memorial; to support education, research and partnerships with other groups for teaching future generations the lessons learned from the Holocaust.

“Hemshech” is a Hebrew word meaning Continuation. Eternal Life-Hemshech was founded in 1964 by approximately 150 Holocaust Survivors living in the Atlanta area.

On April 25, 1965, twenty years after the end of World War II, Hemshech members dedicated the Memorial to the Six Million to Jewish victims of the Nazi Holocaust. These Holocaust survivors had no grave site to visit to memorialize their family members murdered in the Holocaust. They needed a place to grieve their personal losses and recite the Kaddish (the Jewish memorial prayer) for their loved ones murdered in the Holocaust. We continue to commemorate Yom HaShoah at the Memorial each year on the Sunday after Passover ends, which coincides closely with Yom Hashoah.

Although Atlanta’s community of Holocaust Survivors was small compared to other major cities, our Memorial was the second Holocaust monument built in the United States. The architect and builder were both Holocaust survivors and all of the funds raised came from within the Atlanta survivor community.

The Memorial contains six 19 foot high torches representing the Six Million, and within the Memorial are ashes transported from Dachau. There are also approximately 140 inscribed Yahrzeit plaques within the Memorial which bear the names of the families of the local survivors who were murdered during the Holocaust years. An inscription on the front wall reads in Hebrew, English, and Yiddish from the Book of Genesis: “The voice of the blood of thy brother crieth out to me from the ground.”

Because of its extraordinarily symbolic, dramatic, and unique design, the Memorial received a National Award for Religious Architecture. It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places on April 21, 2008.

Furthering Holocaust Education

Today, our organization is composed of Survivors and their family and friends dedicated to our mission. 

In addition to our annual Yom HaShoah commemoration, Hemshech participates in events and partners with local organizations throughout the year to help educate others about the Holocaust. Hemshech provides speakers and docents for Holocaust education programs, sponsors teachers training seminars, scholarships for students to participate in the March of the Living and any other Holocaust education related programs. Hemshech even brought a taste of Yiddish culture to Atlanta with the National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene.