The Berlin Holocaust Memorial - Great Symbolism or Failed Design?

In the center of Berlin, right about half way between the Potsdam Square and the Brandenburg Gate stands an unusual site: It is composed of a large number of rectangular concrete blocks, arranged in evenly spaced rows, with just about enough space for a person to walk through between them. This is the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe or simply known as the Holocaust Memorial, which I've got to visit for the first time recently, thanks to my wife and niece visiting me from Mexico. Up to this day I'm not sure what to think about this memorial.

A Highly Debated Issue

When I first lived in Berlin twenty years ago, I remember the numerous questions that had been kicked around in the public sphere regarding a memorial site to the Holocaust. Was it necessary to begin with, and if so, should it be located right in the middle of Berlin? Should it be dedicated exclusively to the murdered Jews, or should it include others who were persecuted in the same way, such as the Roma, homosexuals, and people with disabilities? Finally, and most crucially, which shape should this memorial structure have?

A Well Chosen Form

To be quite frank, the entire place looks rather benign from afar. In fact, it doesn't look like anything at all, until you are standing right next to it. Or more precisely, until you have walked deep into it. Because on its edges the blocks are so low that you could trip over them if you're not careful. Indeed, only then would you notice that some of them are entirely flush with the ground, reaching all the way to the adjacent bike lane, so inadvertently people walk and cycle over them.

Once you walk into any of the straight lines between the blocks, you find yourself very quickly surrounded by them completely. Not only do they become higher, but the uneven ground drops down rapidly, making you feel overwhelmed by their size. If you are there with a group, the only way you can fit through is by walking behind each other... and at any point someone can suddenly take a turn... and vanish from your group! If you happen to turn left or right, you will find yourself alone and separated from the people you had just been very close to. Which way to go? Anywhere you look, there are only these narrow alleyways between dark towering blocks.

If this isn't a great symbolism for state terror that you first underestimate until it suddenly overwhelms you, I don't know what is. However, to truly appreciate it, you must be in a certain state of mind. Otherwise, the entire construct can completely backfire, as we have seen on others, and even experienced on ourselves.

An Invitation to Play

Once you got separated from your group, or lost sight of someone you were with (even though there are just a couple of steps between you), you may feel like calling out to find each other again. This only helps a little bit, since you will have to turn two corners, provided that the other side stays where they are. This results in a few moments of frantic running around, before a happy reunion... Or it could turn into a "catch me if you can" type of challenge. Depending on how people feel, they could also vanish on purpose, trying to unleash an unexpected boo! on their fellow visitors, scaring them out of their wits. This is precisely what we saw a group of teenage visitors do. And let me be completely honest: as much as this is supposed to be a place of reverence, I could hardly blame them for making use of the features of the place, that clearly offered themselves.

Respect and Lack Thereof

Granted, when it comes to sites like this, there is huge potential for intentional disrespect. And I don't even want to talk about antisemitic vandalism. Others, who have used the site for Tinder pics or to show off their yoga or climbing skills on social media, have become used in a project by Israeli artist Shahak Shapira called Yolocaust, combining their selfies with images of concentration camps and other horrific documentation of this genocide. So yes, one can easily go overboard.

But does that mean that anyone who sits down on a lower block, or calling out "Where are you?" inside the memorial, is ultimately disrespecting the place? I mean, if you create a quasi maze for people to enter, can you blame them for getting lost (even if intentionally)? As for myself, I don't think I would have been able to understand the symbolism of the site if I had not walked among those blocks myself. And as for the right mindset... an important prerequisite is to know what this site is trying to commemorate. And THAT is something that the Holocaust Memorial cannot do. Each visitor must receive their information elsewhere, otherwise the entire site will be simply a maze to play games in.

In the end, I would say the Holocaust Memorial is certainly worth a visit, if only to watch other visitors interact in it. Those who try to caution others for more reverence, I can only recommend a bit of self restraint, trying to see them also as pieces in this all encompassing symbolism of what the Holocaust was, how it came about, and try to apply this view to our present context. Because I believe that is the ultimate message of history, as well as the artistic architectural interpretation of it.