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The Memorial on "Ammunition Hill" in Jerusalem, was erected there as the major memorial site for the Six-Day-War and to commemorate all those who fell in the fight for the liberation of the city.
The memorial includes a Museum which is built of arches which are meant to symbolise buildings like those which stood there in British Mandate times. It was built on top of what used to be the Command Bunker of the Jordanian army, which overlooked a major part of Jewish Jerusalem. In the entrance-hall of the Museum a large block of stone displays the symbols of the IDE units which took part in the liberation of Jerusalem - the Jerusalem Brigade, the Armoured Brigade and the Parachute Brigade. A narrow corridor leads the visitor into the bunker; on its walls can be seen enlarged photographs of views of the partitioned city as it was during the years after the 1949 armistice agreement; also arms used in the Six-day War and army unit symbols can be seen.
The first room one gets to contains an exhibition of works left by fallen soldiers The curved meandering character of the corridor reminds one of the trenches through which the paratroopers fought their way to the top of the hill. Here one can pause and watch a film showing how it was captured on June 6th, 1967. In the centre of the site are four halls each of which has its own character while all four together combine into a single unit.
In the first hall, a map depicting the different campaigns by which the war was won, can be seen. The next hall is dedicated to the "Harel" armoured brigade. Here on a three-dimensional map one can see how the tanks moved from the Jerusalem "Corridor" towards the mountains and Jericho. In the third hall, which is dedicated to the Jerusalem Brigade, giant photographs evidence the battles it had to fight. The Parachutists' hall comes next. On a model of the Old City of Jerusalem, the thrust of the "Red Berets" is made clear as they advanced from Ammunition Hill past the Rockefeller Museum towards the Mount of Olives and finally, into the Old City itself.
On the wall on a background of gold, 183 names are engraved in order of their units, of fighters who gave their lives for the liberation of the City. The Memorial site was built with contributions from the bereaved families and from comrades in arms. It was opened on May 8th 1975.
The battle for Jerusalem began in the afternoon of June 5th, 1967 when a force captured the High Commissioner's Palace, which until then had been occupied by a unit of the Jordanian Arab Legion. The Jerusalem Brigade, commanded by Eliezer Amitay, then took a number of positions near by. On the same day units of the Harel armoured Brigade under the command of Un Ben An, began their attack on Radar Hill and on enemy positions on the Ramallah-Jerusalem road. The battle of Tel el Ful where the Jordanian tanks were beaten back and Israel Air Force attacks also played an important part. The Parachute Brigade, commanded by Motta Gur, was rushed to Jerusalem on the first day of the fighting. They were given the task of attacking the Police-School fortification, on Ammunition Hill by night. A fierce and bloody battle developed and when in the morning, the Jordanian fortifications had been captured, the Brigade mourned the deaths of 36 of their comrades.
When the battle for the Hill had ended, the paratroopers went on to capture the Rockefeller Museum opposite the Old City Walls. Meanwhile the Harel Brigade captured the southern approaches to Jerusalem from Abu Tor.
When the sun rose on the third day of the battle, the 7th of June, the Commander of the central area, General Uzi Narkiss, gave the order to take the Old City. The paratroopers began their advance towards the top of the Mount of Olives which overlooks the city and, after heavy shelling, the soldiers stormed the Lion Gate and streamed in to the walled city. They moved quickly towards the Temple Mount and to the 'Western Wall", the only part remaining of the Temple itself. Jerusalem, Israel's capital was re-united.
