Latest news with #PeterEisenman
South China Morning Post
07-05-2025
- General
- South China Morning Post
Berlin's Holocaust memorial turns 20 but would Germans rather draw a line under Nazi era?
Some say it feels like walking through a field of gravestones. Others liken it to a maze of coffins, disorientating and eerily quiet despite being in the middle of Berlin. Advertisement The German capital's sombre Holocaust memorial – an arrangement of 2,711 concrete steles that has drawn millions of visitors – marks its 20th anniversary this month. The Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe has become a powerful symbol of Germany's determination to ensure the crimes of the Holocaust are not forgotten. But as the world readies to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, fears are growing that the country's strong tradition of remembrance is starting to erode. A visitor walks through the Memorial for the Murdered Jews of Europe on its opening day on May 10, 2005. Photo: AFP Architect Peter Eisenman, 92, whose New York firm designed the memorial, said he wanted to create 'an experience that you would have walking in the space like you couldn't have in any other space in the city'.
Jordan Times
05-05-2025
- Politics
- Jordan Times
Berlin's 'unforgettable' Holocaust memorial turns 20
Partial view of Berlin's Holocaust memorial (Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe) in Berlin, on May 27, 2024 AFP photo BERLIN — Some say it feels like walking through a field of gravestones. Others liken it to a maze of coffins, disorientating and eerily quiet despite being in the middle of Berlin. The German capital's sombre Holocaust memorial -- an arrangement of 2,711 concrete steles which has drawn millions of visitors -- marks its 20th anniversary this month. The Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe has become a powerful symbol of Germany's determination to ensure the crimes of the Holocaust are not forgotten. But as the world readies to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, fears are growing that the country's strong tradition of remembrance is starting to erode. Architect Peter Eisenman, whose New York firm designed the memorial, said he wanted to create "an experience that you would have walking in the space like you couldn't have in any other space in the city". "People find it quite scary because even though it's open to the city, you can disappear and you can lose a child, for example," Eisenman, 92, told AFP. But the idea "was not to make people feel bad or guilty or anything like that", he said. "Kids love it because they play tag and hide-and-seek and run around, and people sunbathe on the pillars. You're supposed to do whatever you want to do. It's not prescribed." 'Quite like a cemetery' The idea of establishing a central Holocaust memorial in Berlin was born in the 1980s but the project was delayed for several years amid concerns that it may provoke anti-Semitism. The German parliament finally agreed on the project in 1999 and the finished memorial, including an underground information centre, officially opened on May 10, 2005. There are no figures on how many people visit it each year but Uwe Neumaerker, the head of the foundation that takes care of it, said that in general "everyone who visits Berlin also visits this memorial". "It is accessible day and night, and there are always visitors here. It's hard to say that people love it but they have taken it into their hearts," he said. Maintaining and securing the memorial costs around two million euros ($2.3 million) a year, according to Neumaerker but "considering the crowds of visitors, it's money well spent". On any given day in Berlin, in any weather, groups of tourists can be seen wandering through the steles, taking pictures and pausing to reflect on history. "I think the German nation have been good to put something like that as a memorial," said Clifford Greenhalgh, 74, visiting from England on a sunny spring day.
Local Germany
05-05-2025
- General
- Local Germany
Berlin's 'unforgettable' Holocaust memorial turns 20
Some say it feels like walking through a field of gravestones. Others liken it to a maze of coffins, disorientating and eerily quiet despite being in the middle of Berlin. The German capital's sombre Holocaust memorial -- an arrangement of 2,711 concrete steles which has drawn millions of visitors -- marks its 20th anniversary this month. The Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe has become a powerful symbol of Germany's determination to ensure the crimes of the Holocaust are not forgotten. But as the world readies to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, fears are growing that the country's strong tradition of remembrance is starting to erode. Architect Peter Eisenman, whose New York firm designed the memorial, said he wanted to create "an experience that you would have walking in the space like you couldn't have in any other space in the city". "People find it quite scary because even though it's open to the city, you can disappear and you can lose a child, for example," Eisenman, 92, told AFP. READ ALSO: Four words that tell us something about Germany But the idea "was not to make people feel bad or guilty or anything like that", he said. "Kids love it because they play tag and hide-and-seek and run around, and people sunbathe on the pillars. You're supposed to do whatever you want to do. It's not prescribed." Advertisement 'Quite like a cemetery' The idea of establishing a central Holocaust memorial in Berlin was born in the 1980s but the project was delayed for several years amid concerns that it may provoke anti-Semitism. The German parliament finally agreed on the project in 1999 and the finished memorial, including an underground information centre, officially opened on May 10th, 2005. There are no figures on how many people visit it each year but Uwe Neumärker, the head of the foundation that takes care of it, said that in general "everyone who visits Berlin also visits this memorial". "It is accessible day and night, and there are always visitors here. It's hard to say that people love it but they have taken it into their hearts," he said. A visitor stands between stelae of The Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, also known as The Holocaust Memorial, in Berlin, Germany on January 27th, 2023, on International Holocaust Remembrance Day. Photo: Stefanie Loos / AFP Maintaining and securing the memorial costs around €2 million a year, according to Neumärker, but "considering the crowds of visitors, it's money well spent". On any given day in Berlin, in any weather, groups of tourists can be seen wandering through the steles, taking pictures and pausing to reflect on history. "I think the German nation have been good to put something like that as a memorial," said Clifford Greenhalgh, 74, visiting from England on a sunny spring day. Advertisement "You can have a statue but I think something like that, it's unforgettable. There are no names but you don't need any names." Polina Chernyavskaya, a 24-year-old student from Kazakhstan, said: "While I am walking here I feel pretty calm and peaceful. It's like when you come to a cemetery. It's very quiet and you can think." READ ALSO: How a German archive brings victims of the Nazis back to life 'Guilt of the past' Remembrance of the Nazis' atrocities and the theme "never again" have for decades been a central feature of German politics and society as the country seeks to atone for its dark past. But concerns are growing amid a rise in support for the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), which emerged as the second-biggest party in the federal elections in February. The party's Bjoern Höcke has called the Berlin remembrance site a "memorial of shame". Advertisement US tech billionaire Elon Musk made a video appearance at an AfD rally where he said Germany was focused "too much on the guilt of the past". In a study published by EVZ, a foundation dedicated to remembrance culture, more than 38 percent of respondents agreed that it was time to "draw a line" under the Nazi era. Veronika Hager, a consultant to the EVZ board of directors, said the result could be seen as a "tipping point" for remembrance culture. Despite the initial concerns, the Holocaust memorial has been largely spared from a reported rise in anti-Semitic attacks and vandalism in Germany in recent years. READ ALSO: How the world discovered the Nazi death camps However, a Spanish tourist was seriously injured in February in a stabbing attack there. Police arrested a Syrian man who they said was a sympathiser of the Islamic state group. "We live in difficult times where right-wing extremists and neo-Nazis are becoming increasingly vocal," said Neumärker. "I believe that in these times, a memorial like this is more important than ever." Asked whether the memorial will still be relevant in another 20 years' time, Eisenman was optimistic. "I think we did a good memorial. It's abstract. It doesn't tell you what to do. It doesn't confine you. It's not kitsch. It's very serious ... I think it'll be there a long time." By Femke Colborne with Cecilia Sanchez in New York
Yahoo
21-02-2025
- Yahoo
Man seriously injured in stabbing at Berlin Holocaust Memorial
A man has been seriously injured in a stabbing incident at Berlin's Holocaust Memorial, police posted on X on Friday evening. The injured man was taken to hospital, according to the police post. According to a report in the local Berlin tabloid BZ, the man was attacked with a knife by an unidentified person. The alleged perpetrator is on the run. Many details were initially unclear on Friday evening. It was not immediately apparent whether there was a connection to the memorial. Police spokesman Florian Nath told BZ: "The victim is a male person, with injuries from a stabbing weapon. He is in the hospital. There are no insights into the identity of the man yet. The weapon used in the attack has not been found so far." Witnesses reportedly saw a man running away. The Holocaust Memorial, designed by architect Peter Eisenman, was opened to the public in May 2005. With the field of stelae and an underground information centre in the German capital near the Brandenburg Gate, it commemorates the approximately 6 million Jews murdered under Nazi rule. Germany has seen a spate of knife crimes in recent months. Two people were killed in a stabbing in a park in Aschaffenburg in Bavaria in January.
