The Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe
The Berlin Holocaust Memorial in the City Center is a Sober Reminder
Jun 10, 2009
In May 2005, on the 60th anniversary of the end of World War II the city of Berlin dedicated "The Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe". It consists of a huge field of 2,711 gray concrete slabs and an underground Information Center. The memorial occupies an area of 205,000 square feet (19,000 square meters) near the Brandenburg Gate on a stretch of land where the government buildings of Hitler's killing machine and the Berlin Wall (1961-1989) stood. It is openly accessible for visitors day and night to walk through at their own pace.
The Abstract Design of Berlin's Holocaust Memorial
Rectangular blocks of blank concrete or stelae (a "stele" is an ancient funerary marker usually with an inscription) are laid out in grid formation recalling tombstones. The ground underneath the stelae is uneven, looking across the field from its edge one sees a wave-like pattern. Upon entering the memorial the stones are only ankle high, but they rise and tower over visitors as they walk deeper into the field. The experience of confusion, disorientation and loss is certainly intended by New York architect Peter Eisenman: "I fought to keep names of the stones, because having names on them would turn it into a graveyard."
The Information Center Offers Biographies of Victims
The Information Center (Ort der Information) is located on the south-eastern side of the memorial grounds. It complements the abstract memorial with historical and personal documents about individuals and families killed in the Holocaust. The exhibit begins with a timeline of the so-called Final Solution, that was planned and executed in a wealthy suburb of Berlin at the Wannsee Conference. One room lists the number of deaths for each of the occupied countries on its walls, while individual biographies are illuminated on the floor. The stories of families are documented in photos and letters, some of them thrown from the trains that deported them. Recordings of interviews with survivors are collected in a video archive. There is a wealth of information about memorial sites throughout Germany and Europe and an excellent bookstore.
The Memorial Acknowledges History's Relevance Today
The threat of genocide continues to be a reality in many parts of the world, and there are many who still deny the Holocaust. The design of the Berlin memorial has a chilling effect on visitors, many leave disturbed because they glimpse an inkling of what the victims might have felt.
A quote by Primo Levi, an Italian Auschwitz survivor who wrote extensively about his experience, is displayed in the lobby. It sums up the memorial's mission and serves as a stark reminder in the country of the aggressors:
"It happened, therefore it can happen again: this is the core of what we have to say."
Opening Times:
The Field of Stelae is open to the public day and night. The Information Center is open from April to September from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. (last entrance 7.15 p.m.) From October to March the underground exhibition can be visited from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. (last entrance 6.15 p.m.). The Information Center is closed on Mondays.
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