Memorial of the Murdered Jews of Europe, often shortened as the Holocaust Memorial or the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe (German: Denkmal zum Holocaust) is a monument at Berlin, Germany. This memorial stands just beyond the Brandenburg Gate, very close to Tiergarten Park, honoring those who were victims of the Holocaust.
History and Design
Architect Peter Eisenman and engineer Buro Happold designed the memorial, which opened to the public May 10, 2005. The project started in 1999 and was to recognize the death of six million Jewish Holocaust victims.
The memorial comprises 2,711 concrete slabs, called stelae, folded in a grid pattern across a sloping field. Visitors walk through the memorial feeling unease and disorientation due to the stelae, which vary in height. The field can be interpreted open to interpretation, some see it as a cemetery, others as a representation in the chaos and systematic destruction during the Holocaust.
Visiting the Memorial
Visitors are free to visit and open every day the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe. For the victims, it is an emotional site which is also a reflective one, an opportunity to remember and reflect.
Guidelines for Visitors
Remember to keep sacredness of this memorial so please do not be disruptive.
Bear in mind that the memorial isn’t a playground or climbing area.
Photography is allowed but do so in sensitivity and with respect for others.
It encourages visitors to be quiet and to stop talking and doing things too loudly.
Holocaust Information Center
Near the memorial is a well informed information center, called the “Place of Information.” This historical educational facility includes more about the Holocaust. Exhibitions, documents and personal stories, both as they appeared on the streets of London at the beginning of the 21st century and through contemporary objects, enable visitors to learn more about the Holocaust and its legacy.
Remembering the past and shaping the future.
The Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe serves as a visual lodestone of remembering and a pressing reminder to preserve history. It is for the greater generations to engage in an active countering of prejudice, discrimination and intolerance.
In Berlin other Memorials and Historical Sites:
In addition to the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, Berlin is home to several other important memorials and historical sites related to the Holocaust and World War II:
Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp Memorial.
Topography of Terror
Jewish Museum Berlin
Berlin wall (East side gallery)
Conclusion
This is Memorial to the murdered Jews of Europe, poignant of the holocaust and lives lost. When people visit here, they remember the victims and think about the past, and work for a more inclusive, more tolerant future. For anyone that is interested in learning about the historical relevance of the Holocaust, it is a must visit.
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