If I could convey emotion through words, I would. It's not possible for this post. I'm not sure I can even verbally explain it to people. The Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe was an incredible place to visit. It's located just south of Unter den Linden and the Brandenburg Gate. It covers over 4 acres and almost resembles a concrete graveyard. The artist left the memorial open for interpretation, meaning there are several ways you can view this place. I felt sickness. I felt sadness. I felt pain and hopelessness. I also felt joy and redemption and justice and hope. It was a strange, yet good place to be. Maybe it's because the country has recognized the atrocities and has chosen to use a valuable piece of land to remember the millions of lives that were so unjustly taken during Hitler's sick reign.
Each piece of concrete is the same length and width, but the heights vary from 0 inches to 15'9". It reminded me of Recoleta Cemetery in Beunos Aires. While standing in the center of the memorial, it's quiet and peaceful and you hardly realize you're standing in the middle of a city.
Below the memorial is a museum, filled with stories of individuals and their families and the fates of so many of them.
Architecturally, the memorial above ground flows into the museum underground. There are voids in the ceiling that measure identically to the concrete slabs above ground.
On the floor in the Room of Dimensions are glowing boxes that hold quotes and letters from victims of the Holocaust. Every memorial pierced me. The pictures tore me apart.
This from a 12-year old girl, knowing she was going to die:
One of the most difficult pictures for me to look at showed a group of women in a ditch. The SS men were forcing them to take off their clothes and lie down and then they murdered them. In one picture, a naked woman is shown holding her naked baby close to her. I almost lost my breath. I just pictured Adri's naked little butt and how it's one of the most adorable, innocent sights in all the world. Shortly after that picture was taken, that mother and her child were murdered. The image is burned into my mind. What can I do to make sure this never happens again?
In the Room of Names, the name of each Holocaust victim is flashed up on the wall for two minutes. We were told that it takes seven years to go through the names of every victim and those are just the ones that have been documented!
The following two pictures are aerial views from postcards I purchased. The memorial is absolutely overwhelming in so many ways.
An interesting piece of information that I just learned is that the bunker for Goebbels, one of Hitler's main cronies, was discovered and left buried under the northeast corner of the memorial. Hitler's bunker is just 200 yards away. Had our tour guide not shown us, we never would have known about the bunker. Anything that could become a shrine to Hitler or his buddies has been intentionally left unmarked or hidden to discourage neo-Nazis from honoring those sickos. Hitler's bunker, where he comitted suicide, was under a small parking lot. No sign. No marker. Nothing. He didn't deserve any more than that.
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