104,000 luminescent stones to remember 104,000 victims. This is the idea behind Levenslicht, the latest installation designed and realized by studio Roosegaarde, a real monument in memory of the victims of the Holocaust in Holland. 

Made visible to the public only a few days ago in Rotterdam, Levenslicht’s presentation falls in the year of the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II and with it the liberation of Auschwitz concentration camp, a symbol of the holocaust, anti-Semitism, and deprivation of freedom. 

In Holland, there were, in fact, 104 thousand people, including Jews, Roma, and Sinti, who were deported and lost their lives in a concentration camp and to pay homage to each of them, the creatives of the Roosegaarde studio thought of a work composed of as many stones made in a laboratory with fluorescent pigments that are illuminated by ultraviolet light. Every few seconds, therefore, the stones radiate a strong blue light and then turn off a few moments later, thus continuing indefinitely, both day and night. 

The choice to use stones comes from the Jewish tradition of placing a stone on the toma of the deceased and not the classic flowers. 

Levenslicht will remain in Rotterdam until January 22nd, after which it will be moved to 170 municipalities in the Netherlands.