How the Memorial's Meaning Shifted

Without a doubt, these antisemitic instances have changed the meaning of the Rhode Island Holocaust Memorial. For one, the Memorial may have offered reassurance﹣that the city of Providence and the State of Rhode Island actively commemorate what occurred in an effort to prevent it from happening again. Additionally, it may have made the Memorial seem more “necessary” in that it represented a clear need for the public to understand the Holocaust and its horrific effects. Moreover, it may have transformed the Memorial from a place of remembrance into a political statement. When antisemitism is overtly present and thus foregrounded in our collective consciousness, the Memorial no longer reminds us of what was, but presents us with a tangible reminder of what is. 

However, when the Memorial stands out more to the community, it also stands out more to white supremacists. And in this way, the Memorial could have equally devolved from a place of remembrance into a place of fear. By engaging with the Memorial, you become a Jewish sympathizer in the minds of white supremacists. And therefore, you might be their next target. Take the 2019 incident that occurred in relation to the monument. Neo-Nazis, donned in Swastikas and MAGA hats, engaged with the monument by taking pictures of it, mocking it, laughing at it. These people stood in the face of the Holocaust honoring not those who died, but the Nazis that killed them.

Here, we see a different type of engagement that stands in opposition to the engagement that the Memorial hopes to inspire. When white supremacists engage with the Memorial, it changes from a place of mourning, remembrance, and education into a place of fear and a tool for hate. The sentiment that “This happened once, and it can happen again” is transformed from one of prevention to that of possibility. This couple’s engagement creates a heavy blanket of fear that surrounds the Jews of Providence. It tells them that they are not welcome. That they are not safe. That they should fear for their lives. That the Nazis aren’t dead. That if the Jews were erased once, they can, and should be, again. In the absence of white supremacists, the Memorial acts as a forewarning. In their presence, it acts as a warning and threat to The Jews.