 Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe - Berlin, Germany
N 52° 30.835 E 013° 22.701
33U E 389955 N 5819436
This waymarks describes and explores the National Holocaust Memorial in the German Capital.
Waymark Code: WM4M60
Location: Berlin, Germany
Date Posted: 09/05/2008
Views: 296
Click on any picture for larger images and click the blue links for more information.
This is where it all began! This is, where the biggest mass murder in human history was planned and ordered. Berlin's Holocaust Memorial, or Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, as it is called officially, is located only 300 yards away from the site of Hitler's "Führerbunker" and on top of the bunker of Reich Propaganda Minister Goebbels. It was inaugurated on May 10, 2005, sixty years and two days after Nazi-Germany's surrender.
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cover page of the official flyer.
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The site was designed by architect Peter Eisenman and engineer Buro Happold. It consists of 2,711 concrete slabs or "stelae", arranged in a grid pattern on a sloping, 4.7 acre large field.
We have tried to capture the atmosphere of the memorial in pictures but like many other photographers before, we soon realized that this is an impossible task. Looking at the pictures might make one wonder about the meaning of the memorial and there was indeed a heated debate in Germany weather this really is the right way to commemorate the biggest crime ever done by one nation to another. but we can testify that it all comes clear once one walks through the field. It is designed to produce an uneasy, confusing atmosphere, representing a supposedly ordered system that has lost touch with human reason and it absolutely does just that!
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Aerial view of the Memorial site from wikipedia
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Underneath the Field of Stelae is the Information Center. Taking pictures inside is not prohibited but we thought it might be disrespectful to those who came here to mourn and to pray.
That's why we only took one picture inside (image to the right).
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The image above was taken in the Room of dimensions.
Fifteen personal accounts written down by Jewish men and women during the persecution are the focus of this room. This individual level is supplemented by a tape stating the numbers of victims in the occupied European countries.
Here is a tour of the other rooms, pictures and text both taken from the Information Center's official flyer.
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Reading out the names and biographies of all the victims in the form presented here would take approximately six years, seven months and 27 days.
This means, starting at the inauguration on May 10, 2005, it will take until January 6, 2012, to fully speak out the unspeakable!
The Israeli memorial site Yad Vashem shared its database with the Berlin Memorial to make the "Room of Names" possible. We think this is an amazing act of reconciliation and forgiveness by the Jewish people!
A Personal Note at the End:
So far, I have created more than 500 waymarks, but this one was the hardest one I ever did. I was born and raised in Germany; I actually grew up in walking distance to the former concentration camp of Sachsenhausen. I am a member of Germany's first post-war generation, a generation that isn't personally guilty of those atrocities but still has a very special responsibility. When German Prime Minister Helmut Kohl visited Israel in 1984, he started his speech in the Knesset with the following words:
"I am standing here as someone who doesn't have to bear the blame for Nazi-Germany because he was given the mercy of a late birth and a special upbringing."
I was raised being aware of the responsibility of keeping the memory of six million innocent people alive and I hope this waymark is a little tribute to that!
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Physical Address: Denkmal für die ermordeten Juden Europas Cora-Berliner-Straße 1 Berlin, Germany 10117
 Date Dedicated: 05/10/2005
 Supporting Website: [Web Link]
 Fee/Donation: Admission is free, audio tours and guided tours are 3 Euro (adult) / 1.50 Euro (children)
 Memorial Type: Museum

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Visit Instructions: A picture of you is required at the site. A full description of your thoughts and experience on the site.
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