The Holocaust Memorial (formal name: Denkmal für die ermordeten Juden Europas) in Berlin is a monument commemorating the persecution of the Jews during the Second World War. It consists of 2711 concrete blocks varying in height from 20 cm to 4.5 metres with a spacing of 95 cm between them. An exhibition space has been set up under the field with the blocks. The American architect Peter Eisenman designed the monument. According to him, the field with the undulating blocks evokes a sense of disorientation and isolation and is symbolic of the experiences of the Jewish population during the Nazi regime.
Motto of the monument is a text by the Italian writer Primo Levi, himself a survivor of the Auschwitz extermination camp: 'It happened, and therefore it can happen again. That's the essence of what we have to say.'
The concrete blocks have a special chemical layer on the outside which makes graffiti easy to remove. Producer of this layer is the pharmaceutical company Degussa. After reports that this company was co-owner of the company that produced Zyklon B for the Third Reich during the Holocaust, the construction of the monument was temporarily interrupted. After investigation, it was decided that the company had in the meantime distanced itself sufficiently from its past.
The monument was inaugurated on 10 May 2005.
Freelance Fotograaf, Voornamelijk landschap en architectuur .. Read more…