MEMORIAL TO MURDERED JEWS OF EUROPE
Stark Holocaust Reminder in Berlin
How does
an entire country and its people say “we’re sorry”?
It’s a fact of existence in the modern Germany. There are many
nations on the globe with plenty of bloody hands to wash, a few admit
some shades of guilt for transgressions or the acts of individual citizens,
while others take no responsibility for evil deeds of the past in the
name of nationalism or destiny. In the heart of Berlin is a stark reminder
of the deliberate process of extermination of an entire people, a field
of silent concrete blocks near the Brandenburg Gate, just behind the
luxurious Adlon Hotel and new American Embassy on land which was once
a no-man’s buffer between east and west.
The concept
of a high profile memorial to the Holocaust was first proposed by a
publicist Lea Rosh, during the government of Willy Brandt in 1989,
when re-unification of the divided Germany first appeared possible with
the fall of the Berlin Wall (see Checkpoint
Charlie). It took ten years
before it was formally approved by the Bundestag in 1999. After an artistic
competition for designers, the concept of Peter Eisenman was chosen and
construction begun in 2003. The Memorial To The Murdered Jews of Europe
was completed in 2005. There is no great sign and the blocks have no
markings, so for first time visitors to Berlin who come across it,
the question arises what are those.
Formed by 2,711 concrete blocks called Stelae, in even rows but uneven
heights, with slight inclines which catch the sunlight at slightly different
angles and shades, perhaps resembling a yard of concrete coffins, or
a field of fallen monolith stones, the memorial stretches from the urban
city to the trees of the Tiergarten park. The number of blocks was chosen
to fit the space rather than for any significance of the number. They
are meant to walk among, some rising to tall heights, some below eye
level for a changing experience of solemnity and reflection.
Below ground,
underneath the monument field is the Information Center with five rooms
of exhibits.
An audio guide tour of the rooms starts
with a study of the Nazis’ extermination policy from 1933 to 1945,
presented through texts and pictures in chronological order. The Room
of Dimensions tells the personal story of fifteen victims in written
diaries. The Room of Families highlights the change in the lives of Jewish
families of Europe from the 19th Century to the destruction of the culture
in the Nazi era. The Room of Names lists the names and short biographies
of murdered Jews, read out in a solemn recorded voice, all the names
would take seven years to complete. Individual victims’ names can
be searched in a database from the Isreali memorial site Yad Vashem.
The last Room of Sites shows the geographic spread of the genocide of
Jews across Europe.
The building of such a monument was the subject of great heated debates in the halls of the German government, its one capital undergoing a lengthy renovation within sight of the proposed location (see Reichstag Dome). A computer terminal in the lobby documents the arguments made for and against its creation.
Visiting the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe
The memorial site
is just to the south of the Brandenburg Gate. The entrance to the Information
Center is by stair and elevator at the south-eastern
corner. The Field of Stelae can be visited at all hours of the day. The
below ground exhibit center is open from 10am to 8pm April to September
and 10am to 7pm October to march. The last admission is 45 minutes before
closing. Entrance is free. The Audio Tour guide is €4 for adults, €2
reduced for youth and seniors. Guided Tours in English are offered Saturday
and Sunday at 4pm for €3, meeting point at the elevator building
at the Corner of Cora-Berlininer and Hannah-Arendt Strasse. © Bargain
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Murdered
Jews Memorial
These articles are copyrighted and the sole property of Bargain Travel Europe and WLPV, LLC. and may not be copied or reprinted without permission. Interior photo courtesy Stiftung Denkmal für die ermordeten Juden Europas.
See Also:
TOPOGRAPHY OF TERROR - NAZI BERLIN
KAISER
WILHELM MEMORIAL CHURCH - BLAUKIRCHE
THE
KENNEDYS MUSEUM BERLIN
