The Garden of the Righteous

As time went on more Righteous were recognized, and by 1989 close to 2,000 trees had been planted all over the Mount of Remembrance. It was therefore decided to construct a memorial where the names of the Righteous Among the Nations would be perpetuated. Landscape architects Lipa Yahalom and Dan Tsur drew the plans for the Garden of the Righteous, a most serene site of impressive simplicity. Integrated into the natural surroundings of the forested hill, the Garden consists of a series of walls creating open rooms, where the names of all the Righteous who had no trees planted in their honor are engraved on the walls according to their countries of origin. By the time the Garden was dedicated on August 7, 1996, close to 14,000 Righteous had been honored by Yad Vashem. Since then new names are being added every year. In 2011 the Garden was expanded and new walls were constructed. Although most of the ceremonies presenting the medals and certificates of honor to the Righteous or their heirs are organized by the Israeli diplomatic representatives in the recipients’ countries of residence, some of the families choose to come to Yad Vashem, to have the ceremony on the Mount of Remembrance and to personally unveil the name of their Righteous relatives on the wall.