Holocaust memorial landscapes in Germany
Encyclopedia
Holocaust memorial landscapes in Germany encompass a large group of commemorative works dealing with the outdoor built environment. Most often these memorials attempt to keep the memory of Holocaust victims alive through dissemination of this memory to the public.
, there has been a question as to how one can adequately commemorate the victims of the Holocaust. For a time, it was often regarded with a sense of amnesia until memorialization efforts emerged. Holocaust memorials in Germany
are unique in that they face the difficulty of commemorating the victims of a crime it has itself committed. Claudia Koonz
, the American feminst historian, evaluates this difference between memorializing the Holocaust as the perpetrator, rather than the victim.
According to scholar James E. Young, Holocaust memorials today have an anti-redemptive nature, reminding visitors of the horror of the Holocaust. These "countermonuments" work to bring events of the past into present awareness rather than relegate them to the past. These same subjects of cultural amnesia and remembrance of the Holocaust appear in the works of other post-Holocaust artists, such as the German artist Anselm Kiefer
, and writers such as Romanian poet Paul Celan
.
Concentration Camp in Lower Saxony, northwestern Germany
. Efforts to establish a commemorative landscape here began shortly after the end of World War II. The core of the design comes from German landscape architect
Wilhelm Hübotter who worked on the design in 1945 and 1946. He was removed from the project as his design, featuring native-only plants and references to Germanic burial mounds, was seen as being too in-line with national socialist ideals of a pure German landscape. Hübotter’s design was, however, successful in its rejection of the beautification of the site, which was seen as inappropriate to the commemoration of acts of atrocity.
The realized landscape features smaller burial mounds where mass grave
s exist. Each mound features a stone plaque noting how many thousands of people are buried within. A path links these graves with a commemorative obelisk and a freestanding, inscribed wall at one end of the site. Critic
s, such as Joachim Wolschke-Bulmahn, claim that the design still engenders a subordination of the commemoration to the landscape itself, therefore playing into the national socialist ideals which caused the Holocaust.
In Nordhorn
, artist Jenny Holzer
was commissioned to redesign a memorial to the fallen of Germany’s three previous wars, including World War II. Next to the existing monolith, she designed a circular garden consisting of concentric rings of plantings and pathways. She employed a high level of symbolism, including benches with etchings such as "The ocean washes the dead" that render them undesirable to sit upon, creating discomfort for the visitor. Called "The Black Garden", Holzer’s design also features plants with dark foliage and blossoms, including an Arkansas Black apple
tree, black Mondo grass
, dark-leafed geranium and common bugle with dark purple leaves, adding to the melancholy nature of the garden. The apple tree itself adds to the symbolism of the garden, Holzer states it is meant to evoke Biblical notions of man’s curiosity about doing wrong. In the spring, a single spot of white tulip
s, planted in front of the plaque for victims of National Socialism, contrast with hundreds of black tulips.
showcases another Holocaust memorial landscape: the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe
. Designed by Peter Eisenman
, the memorial consists of 2,711 concrete steles (a type of arch), of different heights through which visitors can walk. While Eisenman does not explicitly explain the meaning behind these forms, Constanze Petrow speculates that their collective form provides both a recollection of traditional Jewish cemeteries as well as a sense of loss of the Jewish community through the contrast of the quiet space of the memorial with the noise of the surrounding city.
Theory
Since the end of World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, there has been a question as to how one can adequately commemorate the victims of the Holocaust. For a time, it was often regarded with a sense of amnesia until memorialization efforts emerged. Holocaust memorials in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
are unique in that they face the difficulty of commemorating the victims of a crime it has itself committed. Claudia Koonz
Claudia Koonz
Claudia Ann Koonz is an American feminist historian of Nazi Germany. Her principal area of interest is the experience of women during the Nazi era.-Career overview:...
, the American feminst historian, evaluates this difference between memorializing the Holocaust as the perpetrator, rather than the victim.
According to scholar James E. Young, Holocaust memorials today have an anti-redemptive nature, reminding visitors of the horror of the Holocaust. These "countermonuments" work to bring events of the past into present awareness rather than relegate them to the past. These same subjects of cultural amnesia and remembrance of the Holocaust appear in the works of other post-Holocaust artists, such as the German artist Anselm Kiefer
Anselm Kiefer
Anselm Kiefer is a German painter and sculptor. He studied with Joseph Beuys and Peter Dreher during the 1970s. His works incorporate materials such as straw, ash, clay, lead, and shellac...
, and writers such as Romanian poet Paul Celan
Paul Celan
Paul Celan was a poet and translator...
.
Case studies
Multiple former concentration and labor camps have undergone redesigns to create memorial landscapes.Bergen-Belsen
One of the first Holocaust memorial landscapes to come into being was at the Bergen-BelsenBergen-Belsen concentration camp
Bergen-Belsen was a Nazi concentration camp in Lower Saxony in northwestern Germany, southwest of the town of Bergen near Celle...
Concentration Camp in Lower Saxony, northwestern Germany
Lower Saxony
Lower Saxony is a German state situated in north-western Germany and is second in area and fourth in population among the sixteen states of Germany...
. Efforts to establish a commemorative landscape here began shortly after the end of World War II. The core of the design comes from German landscape architect
Landscape architect
A landscape architect is a person involved in the planning, design and sometimes direction of a landscape, garden, or distinct space. The professional practice is known as landscape architecture....
Wilhelm Hübotter who worked on the design in 1945 and 1946. He was removed from the project as his design, featuring native-only plants and references to Germanic burial mounds, was seen as being too in-line with national socialist ideals of a pure German landscape. Hübotter’s design was, however, successful in its rejection of the beautification of the site, which was seen as inappropriate to the commemoration of acts of atrocity.
The realized landscape features smaller burial mounds where mass grave
Mass grave
A mass grave is a grave containing multiple number of human corpses, which may or may not be identified prior to burial. There is no strict definition of the minimum number of bodies required to constitute a mass grave, although the United Nations defines a mass grave as a burial site which...
s exist. Each mound features a stone plaque noting how many thousands of people are buried within. A path links these graves with a commemorative obelisk and a freestanding, inscribed wall at one end of the site. Critic
Critic
A critic is anyone who expresses a value judgement. Informally, criticism is a common aspect of all human expression and need not necessarily imply skilled or accurate expressions of judgement. Critical judgements, good or bad, may be positive , negative , or balanced...
s, such as Joachim Wolschke-Bulmahn, claim that the design still engenders a subordination of the commemoration to the landscape itself, therefore playing into the national socialist ideals which caused the Holocaust.
Ravensbrück surface relief
More recent attempts at memorializing concentration camp landscapes have taken different approaches. In the 1990s an international design competition was held for the redesign of the landscape at the former women’s concentration camp at Ravensbrück, also in Germany; the competition was won by the German practice of Burger + Tischer. On this site, where many of the original structures were demolished and which was later occupied by the Soviet army, little of the original layout remained intact. The winning scheme proposed an excavation of the site by volunteers, gradually creating a surface relief. This process would expose old foundations and the layout of the camp, whose borders would then be reforested to accentuate the boundaries. At the section of the site where youth were detained, a field of flowers acts as a memorial where no other visual traces remain.Black Garden of Nordhorn
Memorial landscapes and gardens which commemorate the losses of the Holocaust also exist on sites which were not directly related to the crimes of the Nazi regime. These designs tend to approach the memory of the Holocaust in a different way, often intending to provoke rather than console the visitor. Rather than sealing off this disturbing aspect of German history, these commemorative landscapes attempt to bring their memory into the present public consciousness.In Nordhorn
Nordhorn
Nordhorn is the district seat of Grafschaft Bentheim in Lower Saxony's southwesternmost corner near the border with the Netherlands and the boundary with North Rhine-Westphalia.- Name's origin :...
, artist Jenny Holzer
Jenny Holzer
Jenny Holzer is an American conceptual artist. Holzer lives and works in Hoosick Falls, New York.-Education:...
was commissioned to redesign a memorial to the fallen of Germany’s three previous wars, including World War II. Next to the existing monolith, she designed a circular garden consisting of concentric rings of plantings and pathways. She employed a high level of symbolism, including benches with etchings such as "The ocean washes the dead" that render them undesirable to sit upon, creating discomfort for the visitor. Called "The Black Garden", Holzer’s design also features plants with dark foliage and blossoms, including an Arkansas Black apple
Arkansas Black (apple)
The Arkansas Black is an apple cultivar, thought to have been developed in the mid-19th Century in Arkansas.Arkansas Black apples are generally medium sized with a somewhat flattened shape. Generally a very dark red on the tree, occasionally with a slight green blush where hidden from the sun, the...
tree, black Mondo grass
Mondo grass
Ophiopogon japonicus Ophiopogon japonicus Ophiopogon japonicus (Mondo grass, Fountain plant, monkey grass; ("dragon's beard") or ジャノヒゲ ja-no-hige ("snake's beard") is a species of Ophiopogon native to Japan.-Growth:...
, dark-leafed geranium and common bugle with dark purple leaves, adding to the melancholy nature of the garden. The apple tree itself adds to the symbolism of the garden, Holzer states it is meant to evoke Biblical notions of man’s curiosity about doing wrong. In the spring, a single spot of white tulip
Tulip
The tulip is a perennial, bulbous plant with showy flowers in the genus Tulipa, which comprises 109 species and belongs to the family Liliaceae. The genus's native range extends from as far west as Southern Europe, North Africa, Anatolia, and Iran to the Northwest of China. The tulip's centre of...
s, planted in front of the plaque for victims of National Socialism, contrast with hundreds of black tulips.
Berlin Steles
BerlinBerlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
showcases another Holocaust memorial landscape: the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe
Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe
The Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe , also known as the Holocaust Memorial , is a memorial in Berlin to the Jewish victims of the Holocaust, designed by architect Peter Eisenman and engineer Buro Happold. It consists of a site covered with 2,711 concrete slabs or "stelae", arranged in a...
. Designed by Peter Eisenman
Peter Eisenman
Peter Eisenman is an American architect. Eisenman's professional work is often referred to as formalist, deconstructive, late avant-garde, late or high modernist, etc...
, the memorial consists of 2,711 concrete steles (a type of arch), of different heights through which visitors can walk. While Eisenman does not explicitly explain the meaning behind these forms, Constanze Petrow speculates that their collective form provides both a recollection of traditional Jewish cemeteries as well as a sense of loss of the Jewish community through the contrast of the quiet space of the memorial with the noise of the surrounding city.
See also
- List of Holocaust memorials