Thirty mosaic butterfly sculptures were recently installed at Nashville’s Holocaust Memorial. This marks the completion of four years of major changes, the first made since its creation in 2006. In a full circle moment, the butterflies brought to fruition a vision to create a comprehensive Children’s Memorial which began on Yom HaShoah 2022.
The journey started with the installation of a tree sculpture to remember the 1.5 million children murdered during the Holocaust and honor the many thousands of orphaned and scarred children who survived. As sculptor and son of survivors, Alex Limor explains when he gives tours of the Memorial, “Among the orphaned children were my father, Irvin and my uncle, Menachem. Among the murdered was their young brother, Vovek. Their simple, pure and ordered childhood prior to the Holocaust is symbolized by the pristine fluted trunk of this oxidized steel tree,” Limor said. “When the Nazis invaded, these flutes splintered into a rigid chaos of branches and twigs, as did their childhoods. Hope for future generations of Jewish children is symbolized by the new growth of patina bronze leaves and the butterflies they will attract.”
The addition of the sculpture kicked off a wave of other changes. Stadium-style benches were added next to the tree, a new stop along the tour path was created so that a monument near the tree could be moved; and Limor fabricated a large welcome sign for the Memorial’s entrance. During these changes, the memorial committee searched for ways to incorporate butterflies into the Children’s Memorial because of their significance in Holocaust remembrance.
In fall 2023, Ellis Prichard, a religious school student at West End Synagogue and Boy Scout in a Brentwood-based troop, asked the committee if there was anything he could add to the site to qualify as his Eagle Scout project. In spring 2024, Prichard and a dozen other members of Troop 418 at Holy Family Church installed a planter box near the welcome sign and filled it with native Tennessee plants that attract butterflies. At his initiation ceremony this spring, his troop leader said it was one of the most meaningful Eagle Scout projects he was involved in.
The committee was inspired to add five additional planter boxes, next to the path leading to the tree sculpture, where a new monument was installed, explaining its purpose. Paver stones honoring recent donors were added, starting at the sculpture.
Finally, last month, the mosaic butterflies created by middle school students from several of Nashville’s Jewish congregations were installed in the planter boxes. The artistic and live butterflies bring a whole new look and joy to Nashville’s Holocaust Memorial as it marks twenty years of existence.
On Sunday, October 25, 2026, there will be an anniversary celebration of the memorial. Bring your family, friends, neighbors, and acquaintances. Learn about the many connections Nashvillians have to Holocaust victims and survivors. To book a docent-led tour or learn more about the Anniversary Celebration, email nashvilleholocaustmemorial@gmail.com.
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