Abandoned

Photograph of sculpture taken at Beth Shalom Holocaust Memorial Centre

Naomi Blake was born in Czechoslovakia and as a child survived Auschwitz, although many members of her family died there. After the war, she lived in Milan, Rome and Jerusalem, before making her home in North London. She studied at Hornsey School of Art, and has been exhibiting since 1962.

“One cannot leave Beth Shalom without a stroll through the magnificently landscaped gardens, with their imposing sculptures and images and bushes planted in memory of numerous Holocaust victims. The centrepiece sculpture, Abandoned, by Naomi Blake, poses the rhetorical question: how could God have allowed the Holocaust to happen? The exquisite gardens are an unparalleled site for silent contemplation.”  Howard Spier

ABANDONED 

after the title of Naomi Dum Blake's sculpture.This is in the garden (at Beth Shalom Holocaust Memorial Centre) which she has dedicated to the Dum family's ten grandchildren, who perished in Auschwitz.

It's important that there is a record
in the heart of the English countryside.
'Out of the depths have I called thee, Oh Lord.'
'Why do you forget us? Where do you hide?'

In the heart of the English countryside,
Beth Shalom - I assumed was run by Jews;
Why do you forget us? Where do you hide?
In undertaker's suits and unbrushed shoes?

At Beth Shalom, which I assumed was run by Jews,
two Christian brothers, trying to make amends,
in undertaker's suits and unbrushed shoes.
For those who never returned - families and friends,

two Christian brothers trying to make amends.
Formal rose gardens, in memory
of those who never returned - families and friends,
honour 'their courage and their dignity'.

Grandchildren's garden. In memory,
Naomi Blake, sculptress, moulds sadness and rage,
honours 'their courage and their dignity'.
For each, a red rose, a plaque with name and age.

Naomi Blake, sculptress, moulds sadness and rage
for millions who died, those dying now,
for each a red rose, a plaque with name and age.
From Rwanda, Auschwitz-Birkenau,

for millions who died, those dying now
it's important that there is a record.
From Rwanda, Auschwitz-Birkenau,
'Out of the depths have I called thee, Oh Lord.'

Marilyn Longstaff