Holocaust Memorial, 1986, height 12'
Commission for Acduth Veshlom Temple, Fort Wayne, IN

Nancy McCroskey's first public commission was a Holocaust Memorial for the Achduth Vesholom Temple in Fort Wayne, where she lives. McCroskey built a tower of clay into which she pressed handprints of members of the congregation, names of 85 Holocaust victims who had relatives in Fort Wayne, and slashes of barbed Wire.
Nancy McCroskey: Dual Relationships
Arts Indiana, February 1990.

The sculpture began as several thousand pounds of clay, which McCroskey and an assistant stamped out with their feet. McCroskey said the design was to give an impression of stability and, ascension, and a sense of the background of the Jewish faith. The 10-foot-tall sculpture rises in 12 units, which represent the 12 tribes of Israel. McCroskey also worked in the word “zachor”, which means “remember” in Hebrew about halfway up the sculpture.
Remembering death, preserving faith
Holocaust sculpture both, somber, hopeful
By Troy Cozad
The Journal Gazette, May 16, 1986