One cannot visit Berlin Germany without coming across one strange structure and that is the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe. This memorial is set right in the middle of the city, with the purpose of reminding millions of innocent Jewish’s lives taken during holocaust. In the following article, I will be discussing why this memoriam is so crucial, its appearance, and why it’s important to remember this particular era of human history.
The Purpose of the Memorial
The Holocaust Memorial or the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe is dedicated to the sufferance of the six million Jews who perished during the holocaust. It’s a place where people pay tribute, freedom-enthusiasts might ponder over some historical aspect, and passers-by perhaps learn something new. This way the memorial tries to prevent genocide issues to forget and honor those innocent people’s lives who died during the holocaust.
The Design
The actual work of architecture at the site was done by architect Peter Eisenman and engineer Buro Happold and it appears to be quite interesting. It is composed of 2,711 concrete slabs called stelae spread on a slope where a number of parcels of land extends to about 19000 square meters. The slabs are considerably different in size and shape, which makes the ground become rough and unstable, which, as the creators wanted, reflects the nature of life during the Holocaust.
When visitors stroll through the memorial, they first face a rather confusing sight of the slabs, which rise at varying heights around them. The slabs rise above the maze like paths suggesting the proportion of the disaster and the clusters of tubular corridors – the literal sensation of being stuck.
The Underground Information Center
Beside the memorial the there is an underground informational complex called the “Place of Information”. This center helps guests learn more about the events of the holocaust from the displays, photographs, individual experiences, and papers. It provides a detailed description of the Slaughter of the Jewish people during world war from the historical perspective, persecution, to genocide.
Another important exhibit in the Information Centre is the so called Room of Names: millions of victims’ names and their brief description are placed there. This should help people remember that each figure, each number, people had lives, they had stories, and they most certainly had families they left behind.
Why Visit the Memorial
It is a solemn place and vistor can fill a spiritual need and learn some sort of lesson about the results of blind hatred and guintility. Maybe it is a wakeup call to society to give and accept tolerance, to respect and fight for human rights.
Because through entering the facility that thought provoking people are being exposed to the tragedy of holocaust, the magnitude and the importance of preventing such tragedies to happen in the future are realized. Indeed, it is a place where people pay tribute to the victims, where future generations can learn what happened for it not to happen again.
Tips for Visiting
Take your time: The memorial is gigantic, therefore, one should spare enough time to have an appropriate appreciation of the whole process. It is perhaps good to schedule a visit of a couple of hours so that a purposeful visit can be carried out.
Respectful behavior: We did however make sure to remind them that it is a place of honor for remembering the lost. Cultivate courtesy and respect to other people and keep silence and quietness.
Visit the Information Center: The underground information center provides useful informations and background information to improve your knowledge. However, do not lose the chance to visit the exhibits.
Consider a guided tour: It’s also important to note that this memorial can be visited with the help of a guided tour, which will make it easier to understand all of the subtle details concerning the history of the event. Secondary strategies include common narration of successful stories from survivors as guides.
Conclusion
The Holocaust was one of the worst genocides in history and the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe in Berlin brings this sad reality home. The architectural design of the memorial and the enormous size of the structure produce the pathos that will enable people to recall certain events.
Through seeing the decisions made in this memorial we are paying tribute to the people who perished in the holocaust, learning of the effects of hatred, and helping to improve the world and making it a more tolerant society.
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