When I first visited the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum my first thought was: wrong place! Not I was in the wrong place but the museum. Why were Americans faster again in recognizing the need for an all-embracing memorial, exhibition and education facility? Why were we Germans too slow once again to establish something in a matter of course? This should have been somewhere in Germany.

Better late than never, a memorial is here now. The idea for the Berlin memorial was born in the late 80s but it took some 15 years to finally break ground for the design of Peter Eisenmann. It opened in 2005 and is located in one of the most prominent public spaces of Berlin, just a block south of the Brandenburg Gate and adjacent to the American Embassy. 

I suppose that the original idea was for the former Concentration Camps on German soil to be the memorial places for the murdered Jews of Europe. But none of them are located conveniently for the larger crowds or for those who are travelling across Germany, but are just visiting the major cities. Finally, here in Berlin everyone can pay respects in a worthy place without the detours.

Looking north. The American Embassy and the Reichstag, the German parliament, in the background.

The Potsdamer Platz as a backdrop to the south.