The Memorial At The Murdered Jews Of Europe

There is a lot that goes into the making of a memorial. A lot to be considered before they can start thinking about what the memorial is going to be; a huge bronze statue or a plaque with their name on it, and where. Controversy is also something that needs to be thought about in deciding if it would be a good idea or not to have a memorial of someone or something. Those factors should depend on the space they are working on, as well as where, and the fact that sometimes it’s best to stay away from the subject as the public may not agree.

The official name of the memorial is called The Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe. This name gives a clear stance on the history of the Holocaust and portrays the responsibility that the German government has taken for their wrongdoings against the Jewish people. Significantly, it was the first German government sponsored memorial, which further explains its importance. This reflects postconvetionalism in the way that the German government has acknowledged the truth of their role during the war. The truth is also explanatory in the name of the memorial; however, the physical structure does not display certainty of it being a memorial of the six million murdered Jews. The structure is beyond the binary and fixedness of other Holocaust

Despite these challenges it’s important recognize the vast improvements and efforts teachers all over Germany are making to better educate their students about the Holocaust. For example, teachers help to foster empathy and personalize the Holocaust through the reading and analysis of contemporary Holocaust literature and non-fiction (e.g. writings by Primo Levi, Imre Kertescz, and Günter Grass). These works serve to not only represent he victims of the Holocaust but also the bystanders, perpetrators, and their descendants which help to communicate the German guilt that is so often left out of public discourse. Additionally, many teachers use artwork by Holocaust victims to allow students to visualize the suffferings endured during the Holocaust and raise questions of what the artists were trying to convey through the art (Holocaust Task Force). More interactive components have be incorporated into modern Holocaust education such as visits to former concentration camps and guest speakers who were often Holocaust survivors or community members alive during WWII. Through these approaches teachers are providing not only

Preserving Memory: The Struggle to Create America’s Holocaust Museum gives the reader an extensive overview in the development of the Holocaust Memorial Museum that is located in Washington D.C. In this edition of the book, Linenthal writes a preface. In his opening preface, Linenthal discusses the importance of teaching the Holocaust. He writes about how over time, those in power saw it necessary for there to be a national memorial. Linenthal mentions how some thought that a memorial dedicated just to the Holocaust would cause people to ignore the rich history of Judaism as an entire civilization. Another argument was that funds that could be aiding Jews that are still suffering from anti-Semitism in foreign lands or to help those that were Jewish and struggled to remain Jewish in a secular culture. It was also thought that possibly remembering the Holocaust too well would muddle the relationship between Jews’ and non-Jews. The biggest argument was that the Holocaust was a unique event. Some countered that the argument was only used to claim superiority and have supreme victim status. Another argument was that the Holocaust would be used incorrectly as a filter for modern-day political issues. One Jewish

“This is the biggest cemetery for Jews, Poles, Roma and Sinti. It must tell us that we have to come back here again and again. We must keep the memory of the worst crime in human history alive for those who were born later.”

“Germany's Holocaust Memorial Problem-and Mine” is an article that analyzes the complexities of creating a memorial that will represent a great amount of Jewish people that perished in the hands of the Nazi Germany during the 1930's and early 1940's. James E. Young author of this article, was part of a five member committee that would agree whether or not to build a memorial and the process was very difficult because they had to make sure that the jewish community accepted the memorial and the Germans would not feel offended or targeted. What made things awkward in a way was that Young was Jewish so he would be responsible of the criticism for either accepting or denying a memorial option. What was significant in the article was that the topic

ecrying the lack of a central Holocaust memorial in Germany, a group of German citizens begins a decade-long campaign for a highly visible, national "Memorial to Europe 's Murdered Jews." The idea for the memorial is first proposed by journalist Lea Rosh and historian Eberhard Jaeckel who together had made a documentary about the deportation and mass murder of Europe 's Jews between 1933 and 1945.

Businesses were set ablaze by former friends and the same devoted customers that they had happily served only hours prior. These people tell firsthand how they were cast out of their own homes while their belongings were being tossed like garbage and their valuables distributed amongst all the attackers and people they once thought of as family. They serve as an example of how fast an entire nation of people can be swayed to do things that are hateful and immoral against their own fellow countrymen. This all resulted from a law that dictated the Jews had no rights to anything. Regardless if were pressured to do things or were motivated by self-benefit or economic reasons, each side is told in this exhibit. Every dark and guilty memory is shown through the eyes of real people.

The issue over location of monuments is an important one to consider because of the different meanings each statue has to different people and where those ides are being represented. For example, Downes, states that the Crazy Horse Memorial in the Black Hills, South Dakota is “definitely an unnatural landmark.” A similar opinion from Musser about the effect of location states, “memory of the Holocaust would be built in the United States, who did little to stop the Holocaust from occurring.” The issue of location of these monuments sparks controversy in many forms, such as Mount

Memorialization of any sort can be a tedious process, but those regarding Holocaust remembrance were particularly challenging given the surrounding social and political controversies that ensued. This is primarily seen through the issue of representation, which consistently played a key role in the creation of both the Holocaust museum in Washington D.C., and the Dachau concentration camp memorial. While the Dachau memorial’s conception stages, the designers were contemplating which victim groups to include. For instance, the mayor of Dachau stated, “Please do not make the mistake of thinking that only heroes died in Dachau. Many inmates were…there because they illegally opposed the regime of the day….You have to remember there were many criminals and homosexuals in Dachau. Do we want a memorial to such people?” (Harold Maruse, “Dachau,” 151). With this quote, the mayor implies that the memorial will only be dedicated to those he deems worthy of representation. Likewise, the White House officials orchestrating the American Holocaust Museum also debated a similar notion regarding the inclusion of ethic victim groups other than the Jews. However, Wiesel and other Holocaust survivors believed that commemorating non-Jews was an “…obscene incursion into the boundaries of Holocaust memory by those whose country-men had persecuted survivors” (Edward T. Linenthal, Preserving Memory, 53). For this reason, and in order to avoid the generation of false memories, these groups

Before I had a general knowing of what happened during the holocaust and what the Jewish people may have been feeling, but after going through this exhibition it made me think more about all of their harsh realities, and that it wasn’t just adults that suffered but it was a number of children that suffered too. One Jewish child talked in her journal about how having to wear the yellow jewish star made people come up to her and make her do whatever they wanted. She called it a stamp that distinguished her from the rest of the population. Another said it was a sign that made them targets for humiliation and violence.

Source E shows an excellent example of how important location is when putting a memorial up for display, by explaining the reactions that occurred .The source explains the controversy that had started over the thought of Holocaust museum opening in a mall in Washington, D.C.. Not only is this idea confusing because of how little to noting our country had to do with, but it's offensive to people you have a connection with this awful historical event. This notion of opening the in a mall in Washington, D.C. when the event hadn't even happened in our country is somewhat disrespectful to those who have any ties to the Holocaust. Even though said idea would be a nice way in showing respect to those who had their life taken during this time, a mall in D.C. would not satisfy the people. In this case of opening a Holocaust museum, (source E), location was very important and proves how necessary it is to make sure location is a main

“Use a picture. It is worth a thousand words”- by Arthur Brisbane. The photographs in this essay represent the visualization of the perpetrators in three types of exhibits. These exhibits are; the survivor exhibit at Ravensbrück, the female SS guard exhibit at Ravensbrück and the House of the Wannsee Conference. Through the different exhibits, the story of the perpetrators emerges. In the survivor exhibit pictures, the story begins with the path to Ravensbrück to the administrative building. This exhibit highlights the story of the atrocities done by the perpetrators, is what this essay is portraying. The female SS guard story starts the same way, but stops at the guard houses. This story illustrates the making of an SS guard and what punishments these perpetrators went through after the Holocaust. The last exhibit, the House of the Wannsee Conference, tells the story of the administrative perpetrators. It highlights the striking difference of where high ranking officials spent time and their involvement in the decisions of the Holocaust. The exhibits in the essay add to the public memory of the perpetrators and offers the beginning of a holistic account of the Holocaust. Also, it allows individuals to

The author examines literature, art, and history to assess the ethical implications of expressing the inexpressible story of the Holocaust. Glowacka argues that the relationship between historic truth and artistic license allows a present day audience “to describe, to understand, to imagine, and to remember” the events of the Holocaust. Disappearing Traces is crucial to the study of artistic portrayals of the Holocaust because literature and its embellishments are able to transmit emotions in an artistic and digestible

This year over my spring break I had the opportunity to visit Dachau Concentration Camp in Dachau, Germany. This was the most rewording and educational experiences of my life which without of doubt taught me more lessons of past than any textbook or documentary ever has. There was a statue that stood inside the camp of a prisoner who was standing with one foot in front of the other and dressed as it was winter with his hands in his coat pocket and his head held high he stood as an individual. Underneath in German words “Den Toten Zur Enr Den Lebenden Zur Mahnung” was written which means “to honor the dead, to warn the living.” Before my visit I did not realize that almost all decisions made within the camps are decided by holocaust