I want to throw open for discussion the questions before us. First and foremost I want us to agree on the meaning of the term “documentat ion.”  It seems to me that, in the context of a museum, the term comprises much more than simple documentation -- it comprises all things that help to document a particular period: documents, photographs, artifacts, works of art (drawings, writings, etc. from the period). One should also add to the list elements such as models, films, personal testimonies on video, restorations, etc.

Transparency of documentation
Another understanding of the term which we should aim at, evolves from a comparison of the terms “documentation” and “memory.”  If achieving a balance is really only possible between things that are similar, the question we need to ask is “are these two terms indeed the same” or is one --memory -- the goal, and the other -- documentation -- the means?  It seems to me that the latter is true if one thinks of a museum in terms of display, and if this is so the two terms do not need to be balanced because they are  different.

Transparency of the conceptual program
After de-constructing the question, I want to build it anew, and define documentation as an inherent part of a museum’s role, but from the perspective of building collections and carrying out research. All museums, irrespective of the subject they are illustrating, base themselves on collections. These collections provide the material for a display or an exhibition, but they also have value in themselves.

I therefore suggest that we deal mainly with the first part of the question: what is the role of a Holocaust museum: and from here we  can go on to deal with relevant issues, while relating to the question of documentation and memory.

Conclusion
A Holocaust museum bears a heavy burden. It is not enough for it to be good on a professional level, it has to express spiritual values whi ch represent memory and which at the same time transmit a message. This is a very big parenthesis.

The Holocaust was a great stain in the history of humanity. There has never been anything like it before and we hope never will be again. There are historical and sociological explanations for the Holocaust, but no moral ones. How was it possible for such a genocide to take place, not so long ago, in the heart of Western civilization? This is a question we never cease to ask ourselves, even though we deal with the subject on a daily basis. And no one is able to answer this question.

Furthermore the means we possess, in terms of historical documentation, to transmit this message to the public are very slim. They are often totally unsuitable to a museum.

The role of a museum in general is to bridge the gap between an historical event and the public’s understanding of it. In the case of a Holocaust museum, the gap is twice as wide and often beyond human understanding. The question remains whether we, as museum professionals, can, by telling the story of the Holocaust, shape memory and transmit the universal message that stems from it?  I believe we can. Otherwise we would not be here.