Memorial to the Victims of Nazism

Location: Kaunas, Lithuania

Constructed: 1984

Architects: Gediminas Baravykas, Adolfas Vytautas Vielius (architects) and Alfonsas Vincentas Ambraziūnas (sculptor)

Alternative names: Memorial to the Victims of Fascism and Holocaust Memorial

Genre: Brutalist, Soviet memorial, former USSR

The 32-metre tall memorial commemorates the many thousands of Jewish victims who were murdered at Ninth Fort by the Nazis during World War II. A competition to design the memorial was announced in 1966. In 1970, the winners were announced and a six-year design phase began. Work on the complex commenced in 1976 and the monument was inaugurated in 1984. The concrete sculptural composition is in three parts. They are named “Pain”, “Hope” and “Liberation” and symbolise confrontation with evil, rising up against evil, and fighting back against evil, respectively. At the time of its completion, the place of remembrance was one of the largest and best-known monuments in the Lithuanian SSR. More information about the Memorial to the Victims of Nazism.