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Collective Jewish Memory in Berlin Benjamin Daniel Fisher

Collective Jewish Memory in Berlin

Berlin has always been a mystical place for me. I was raised in a Jewish home and was taught Jewish European history. I learned about Hitler’s Third Reich and the unthinkable events of the Holocaust.

As I prepared for the

Berlin trip, I was confronted with mixed emotions. On one hand, I felt weary of a place that formerly committed such heinous acts of antisemitism, while on the other, I wanted to visit the city that was central to Hitler’s regime and understand how and why those events took place. Although Nazi persecution was not limited to Jews, the focus will be on Jewish memorials in Berlin and how they act a site of collective memory.

Site & Context Plan: the Memorial for the Murdered Jews of Europe.

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Memory is an interesting phenomenon.

People who experience the same event will not develop the same memories.

That being said, how can the concept of collective memory exist?

How does a

memorial represent the loss of so many different people with unique stories?

Can a memorial truly portray the horrific experiences of the victims?

Since World War II, the German Circulation diagram: the Memorial for the Murdered Jews of Europe.

government has valiantly acknowledged the events of the past and have made it a priority to resurrect the city while continuously

Site Section: the Memorial for the Murdered Jews of Europe.

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Collective Jewish Memory in Berlin

memorializing

Berlin’s

Jewish history. The philosopher George

Germans have devoted their attention

arrangement and material detailing will

Santayana stated that “those who cannot

especially to dealing with their past (81).

determine how each contributes to the

remember the past are condemned to

concept collective memory.

repeat it” and subsequently, collective

Jewish memorials in Berlin exist at three

Jewish memory is woven in to the

scales: 1) Public space: the Memorial to the

Peter Eisenman’s Memorial to the

fabric of modern Berlin. Furthermore,

Six Million Murdered Jews of Europe, 2)

Murdered Jews of Europe “attempts to

according to Hope M. Harrison,

Building: The Berlin Jewish Museum and

decontextualize the Holocaust, in the

All countries highlight various parts of

3) Human: Gunter Demnig’s Stolperstein

sense of trying to see it as a cut (or scar)

their history and make efforts to channel

or “stumbling blocks” that commemorate

in the history of Germany” (Grenzer).

“collective memory,” whether around

the individuals that worked and lived in

The memorial is large but its street

things they are proud of in the past or

Berlin before World War II.

presence is timid. At the perimeter, the

around learning from and/or atoning

Although the overall effectiveness of

large concrete columns are low in height

for things they regret from the past.

each memorial is subjective, an analysis in

and increase towards the centre of the

Since grappling with the Holocaust, the

terms of site context, organization, spacial

site. This strategy attracts pedestrians

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and creates a unique spacial experience of an undulating ground plane and towering, sometimes slanted columns.

Eisenman

attempted

to

disorientate

people amidst the columnar field but the gridded arrangement left a missed opportunity to maximize the intended disorientation. For example, even at the deepest portion, one can see adjacent buildings and especially the vegetation of the Tiergarden to the East. Although the sounds of the city were diminished, it is always evident where one is located within the memorial. If the columns were

Paving Detail: the Memorial for the Murdered Jews of Europe.

randomly placed throughout the site with no clear site lines, true disorientation would have been experienced.

Although the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe has a strong presence, it fails to act as a site for collective memory.

It is more of a public space and urban 6

Collective Jewish Memory in Berlin

playground as children were running along

in thought. This ambiguity is reinforced

the axes and people were lounging atop

with the massive concrete array, that

the shortest columns. Most importantly,

without explanation, is misrepresented

there is no moment of reflection. Visitors

as a field of gravestones. Visitors are not

are drawn to circulate through with

able to connect with the place resulting

ambiguity rather than stopping to linger

in a misunderstood intention of the

stated, “How to give voice to an absent Jewish culture without presuming to speak for it? How to bridge an open wound without mending it? How to house under a single roof a panoply of essential oppositions and contradictions?” (Young, 10).

The building addresses rather

than answers these questions through experiential sequencing in the axis of the Holocaust.

The subterranean entrance

through the original museum building doesn’t disrupt the urban context while simultaneously distinguishing old from Perspective looking east towards the Tiergarden: the Memorial for the Murdered Jews of Europe.

new. The unconventional building jogs through the site, creating public green

memorial. Ultimately, for the Memorial

clear idea of collective memory.

to the Murdered Jews of Europe, the large scale and capital investment, inability to

Comparably, Daniel Libeskind’s Jewish

fulfill the intended disorientation and the

Museum has a rich conceptual framework

neglect of a moment of reflection left no

that is integral to collective memory. He

spaces around the building and a buffer between the surrounding residential buildings. The Garden of Exile is visible from the street, allowing a portion of the memorial to be publicly viewed without entering the museum.

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Schematic Lower floor plan: the Jewish Museum

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Collective Jewish Memory in Berlin

street view into the site towards the garden of exile: the Jewish Museum

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The entry sequence begins at the

floor plane of the axis of the Holocaust is

those individuals and families displaced

Coming into the old building

is slanted upwards towards the Holocaust

and murdered by the Nazis. They include

creates a transition space and prepares

Tower. This creates an exaggerated sense

letters from parents to children and

visitors for an immersive experience. As

of volume, uneven feeling and a focused

family keepsakes donated to the museum.

one descends down, the ceiling height at

perspective.

This simple gestures elevates emotion

street.

the entrance stairs is compressed at the

The ascent to the Holocaust Tower is

and enhances the connection between

top and expanded at the bottom while the

lined with small artifacts belonging to

visitor and victim before experiencing

Site Section Through the Jewish Museum in Berlin

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the Holocaust Tower (see Appendix A

tall, dark and unconditioned. and all the

experience of fear and false hope: the

for example).

surfaces are polished concrete. Entry is

latter just out of reach that leads to no

Libeskind wanted “to build the museum

marked by an oversized steel door that

where, the small holes in the wall just

around a void that runs through it, a void

creaks open and slams shut behind you.

over head allowing in small amounts of

that is to be experienced by the public�

The deafening sound creates a sense of

air and light and the single light source

(Young, 11).

This void is epitomized

shock, imprisonment and disorientation.

from the ceiling that gently illuminates

in the Holocaust Tower. It is 24 meters

Inside, Libeskind uses cues that create the

the dark, cold space. I can only imagine

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what this space would feel like during the winter months.

Later in the experiential sequence, the concept of disorientation is continued in the Axis of Continuity with jagged concrete struts slashing through the space, enhancing the overall conceptual parti of the building.

The intention of the axis of the Holocaust is focused solely on the experience, while the interpretation of meaning is intentionally left open. This mirrors the lives of the Jewish victims of the Holocaust as each soul had their own story.

This open meaning is why

this memorial is so successful as each can relate and memorialize what they wish. As more visitors experience the axis of the Holocaust, the accumulation of their experiences develops a collective Floor plan: Holocaust Tower

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memory of life, death and persecution.

Finally, the most touching and effective memorial is the smallest and most discrete. Gunter Demnig’s Stolperstein are placed throughout the city and the “stumbling blocks� are moments of memorial for Jews that lived and worked in adjacent buildings prior to Nazi persecution.

The unplanned nature of

the experience is powerful and just like the Holocaust Tower, the brass blocks allow each visitor to pause and reflect.

The collective memory is addressed through connection to the place. Visitors can imagine and interpret their own story for each name while being at the building where the victims resided. For myself, the Stolperstein are a constant reminder that the Holocaust victims were everyday people

that,

without

warning,

had

absolutely everything taken away from them. The small gesture to reintroduce

The concept of disorientation is continued in the axis of Continuity: the Jewish Museum

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their stories into the urban fabric is modest and powerful, causing me to acknowledge what they experienced and to appreciate the time and place where I live. The Stolperstein are a microcosm of everyday life and loss taken during the Holocaust. The collective memory they induce is reiterated through experiencing Berlin and is the most effective memorial I encountered during the trip.

In conclusion, the concept of collective memory is independent of size, capital investment and intent. is

The concept

predicated on the accumulation of

individual connections to historic events.

The most effective method of memorial is sometimes the unpretentious.

The

Memorial to the Murdered Jew of Europe, although large and woven into the urban fabric at a large scale, is less 14 Collective Jewish Memory in Berlin

Memorial in old Jewish Quarter, Mitte, Berlin: Stolperstein

effective as a site of collective memory.

There is no moment of reflection which is crucial for the success of a memorial.

On the contrary, the modest Stolperstein or “stumbling blocks” and the Holocaust Tower at the Jewish Museum, create a powerful and immediate connection to a site of memory. Visitors become emotionally connected and create their own memory.

The accumulation of

these thoughts and experiences is what develops the collective memory, which is powerful and magnified through specific connections to who or what is being memorialized.

The events of the Holocaust were atrocious and the victim’s experiences will never fully be understood. In Berlin, the foremost attempt is to remember and develop personal connections to the past through experiencing sites of memory.

Experience within the memorial: the Memorial for the Six Million Murdered Jews of Europe.

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Appendix A Farewell Letter On August 9, 1942, shortly before she was deported to Theresienstadt, Gertrude Striem wrote this letter to her son Rolf in Bolivia, where he had emigrated in 1939. Gertrud was murdered in Treblinka on September 26, 1942. The Photo shows her as a fashionably dressed young woman at the turn of the century.

“My one and only beloved boy, I have a heavy heart.

We must go to Theresienstadt on the 12th. If this is only a temporary arrangement I will gladly accept all the sadness it will cause because I will then be able to look forward to the joy of reunion with my beloved child…If fate has something else in store & we don’t see each other again, then remember that Ive love only for you, that I’ve always wanted the best for you & that I’ve desired the greatest happiness for you… Hold us in your heart just as we hold you in ours, for otherwise we could not endure this difficult path.”

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Appendix B: Additional Sketches of Sites of Memory

Compressed basement ceiling

Main floor tall ceiling

The Neues Museum Ben Fisher

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Drainage detail around the memorial pond

View through entry with the top of the Reichstag visible through the trees

Memorial to the Sinti and Roma of Europe Murdered Under Natonal Socialism 20 Collective Jewish Memory in Berlin

Typical paving detail throughout the site

Experience within the Memorial

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The Berlin Wall Memorial 22 Collective Jewish Memory in Berlin

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Looking back at the Orangerie

Looking down the terraces towards the lawn

Schloss Sansoucci Orangerie Site Plan

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The Orangerie at Schloss Sansoucci Five Minute Site Sketches

Framed View towards the Church

Intimate seating area within the garden

View towards the terraces and Orangerie from the Lawn

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Visual axis on approach

View Towards Schloss from the edge of the French Garden

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Axis continues within the formal French Garden

Schloss Charlottenberg Site Section

Looking back at the Schloss form the garden

Rough landscape of the english garden

View towards pedestrian bridge with the Schloss in the background

Perspective within the formal French Garden

Mausoleum axis

Obelisk as a focal point and terminus in the visual axis through the garden

Picturesque view through the English Garden

Schloss Charlottenberg Five Minute Site Sketches Ben Fisher

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Marmorpalais at Neuer Garten 30 minute Site Sketch

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Work Cited

“George Santayana.” Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 8 July 2014

Grenzer, Elke. “The Topographies of Memory in Berlin: The Neue Wache and the Memorial for the Murdered Jews of Europe.” The Topographies of Memory in Berlin: The Neue Wache and the Memorial for the Murdered Jews of Europe. Canadian Journal of Urban Research, 22 June 2002. Web. 7 July 2014

Harrison, Hope M. “The Berlin Wall and Its Resurrection as a Site of Memory”. German Politics and Society, Issue 99 Vol. 29 No. 2 (2011): 78 - 107

Young, James E., “Daniel Libeskind’s Jewish Museum in Berlin: The Uncanny Arts of Memorial Architecture”. Jewish Social Studies, New Series, Vol. 6, No. 2 (2000) 1 - 23.

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