GERMANY: CONTROVERSIAL VAST NEW HOLOCAUST MEMORIAL OPENS TO THE PUBLIC IN CENTRAL BERLIN

Record ID: 649305

  • Title: GERMANY: CONTROVERSIAL VAST NEW HOLOCAUST MEMORIAL OPENS TO THE PUBLIC IN CENTRAL BERLIN
  • Date: 12th May 2005
  • Summary: (GNS1) BERLIN, GERMANY (MAY 12, 2005) (REUTERS) 1. WIDE OF LORRY WITH PIECES OF FENCE THAT SURROUNDED THE MEMORIAL, PAN TO GROUP OF STUDENTS IN FRONT OF MEMORIAL 0.10 2. STUDENTS WALKING TOWARDS CONCRETE PILLARS THAT CONSTITUTE MEMORIAL 0.20 3. STUDENTS WALKING THROUGH FIELD OF PILLARS 0.28 4. VARIOUS OF STUDENTS WALKING AROUND THE MEMORIAL (2 SHOTS) 0.37 5. ARRIVAL OK UWE NEUMAERKER, SPOKESPERSON FOR THE FOUNDATION OF "MEMORIAL FOR THE MURDERED JEWS OF EUROPE" 0.42 6. SOUNDBITE (German), UWE NEUMAERKER, SAYING: "It is not with our approval if people come here in beach clothing and sunbathe for example on one of the pillars or have a barbecue here. It is the point of this memorial to be open and part of the space we have in this town. People are supposed to accept it and to just come here." 0.58 7. WIDE OF FIELD OF PILLARS, ONE STUDENT JUMPING FROM ONE PILLAR TO THE OTHER 1.06 8. STUDENTS WALKING THROUGH MEMORIAL LAUGHING LOUDLY 1.16 9. SOUNDBITE (German), UWE NEUMAERKER SAYING: "There seem to be quite a lot of school classes here, which I like. (The architect Peter) Eisenman always said 'childrens laughter within these pillars is what I want." 1.25 10. STUDENTS WALKING PAST CAMERA 1.32 11. SOUNDBITE (English) ISRAELI VISITOR ALON SHARONI, SAYING: "I believe this is very important for the German people, the young German people who are not familiar with the Holocaust." 1.45 12. CU: REFLECTION IN THE WATER ON A PILLAR 1.51 13. WIDE OF ENTRANCE TO UNDERGROUND INFORMATION CENTRE, WAITING VISITORS 1.55 14. BARRIER BEING REMOVED, VISITORS WALKING DOWNSTAIRS 2.06 15. VISITORS WALKING DOWNSTAIRS 2.10 16. PAN FROM ROOF OF UNDERGROUND INFORMATION CENTRE TO FLOOR 2.21 17. SOUNDBITE (German), VISITOR MICHAEL RIEDIGER, SAYING: "When I first read about this in the newspaper I was under the impression this would be like an object of art or something that is unlikely to trigger emotions. But when I came here and saw the tall pillars I did feel a bit frightened and I felt the dark within the tight passages. It was very impressive, actually. And also the cooperation with the underground information centre is very poignant." 2.50 18. WIDE OF PILLARS 2.54 19. VISITOR WALKING THROUGH MEMORIAL 3.02 20. SOUNDBITE (German), VISITOR SIEGRID STEINHAUER, SAYING "I dont like the fact that there are so many people here. I would rather be alone in here, I believe it would be a much more appropriate mood which I am sure is what initiators had in mind.". 3.12 21. WIDE OF VISITORS SITTING ON PILLAR 3.16 22. CLOSE OF GIRLS SITTING ON PILLAR 3.22 23. WIDE OF MEMORIAL WITH PEOPLE SEEN WALKING BETWEEN PILLARS (GOOD SHOT) 3.26 24. PAN ACROSS MEMORIAL WITH GERMAN BUNDESTAG IN BACKGROUND 3.37 Initials Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved
  • Embargoed: 27th May 2005 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: BERLIN, GERMANY
  • Country: Germany
  • Reuters ID: LVADHV2NPX88943OIWVMFWF9Y5AH
  • Story Text: Berlins controversial Holocaust Memorial opens for
    the public.


    The vast new Holocaust memorial has opened to the
    public in central Berlin on Thursday (May 12) after 17
    years of fevered debate.

    A haunting field of 2,711 grey gravestone-like pillars
    that sits between the Brandenburg Gate and the buried
    remains of Adolf Hitler's bunker, the memorial was opened
    officially on Tuesday (May 10).

    Visitors are able to access it from the street on all
    four sides 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

    Uwe Neumaerker, spokesman for the Foundation of the
    "Memorial for the murdered Jews of Europe" told Reuters
    TV:"It is not with our approval if people come here in
    beach clothing and sunbathe for example on one of the
    pillars or have a barbecue here. It is the point of this
    memorial to be open and part of the space we have in this
    town. People are supposed to accept it and to just come
    here."
    While some young visitors jumped from pillar to pillar,
    some visitors of the site where visibly shaken. "When I
    first read about this in the newspaper I was under the
    impression this would be like an object of art or something
    that is unlikely to trigger emotions. But when I came here
    and saw the tall pillars I did feel a bit frightened and I
    felt the dark within the tight passages. It was very
    impressive, actually", visitor Michael Riediger said after
    walking through the field of pillars.

    Critics have argued that the abstract design has little
    to do with the Holocaust and attacked the decision to put
    the memorial in such a prominent location. Others have
    criticised it for honouring the Jews and not other victims
    of Nazi terror.

    U.S. architect Eisenman -- whose previous works include
    the Wexner Center for the Visual Arts in Columbus, Ohio and
    the City of Culture in Galicia, Spain -- sees his latest
    work as a metaphor for the Nazi regime and the mad,
    systematic nature of its genocide.

    From a distance, the site looks like a dark, placid
    ocean. As visitors descend on uneven, sloping ground into
    the memorial, the concrete blocks rise to heights of up to
    4.7 metres (15 feet), tilt at odd angles and street noise
    fades.

    The experience is intended to create feelings of unease
    and loneliness, encouraging discussion and reflection on
    the plight of the 6 million Jewish victims of the Third
    Reich.

    An underground information centre, added to the
    original plan at the request of the German government,
    complements the field of pillars with personal stories of
    individual Jews across Europe that were killed by the Nazis.


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