BERLIN’S JEWISH MEMORIALS

Represented by multiple lines of grey concrete blocks The Holocaust Memorial in the heart of Berlin is a moving reminder of what happened to the Jews here before and during WW2.

Nearby ,the largest synogogue in Berlin , sacked during the Nazi era.  has been meticulously repaired . But few Jews remain to pray here . Intead it is  used as a remembrance centre for what happened to the city’s Jews.

The nearby  Jewish Historic Museum is housed in a building purposely built in a disjointed  ,fragmented manner to reflect the trauma of Jewish history.

The persecution of Jews is well documented in the museum .As far back as the Middle Ages they were made to wear special hats to distinguish them.

Constructed featuring zig zagging and sloping corridors, the design of the Jewish History Museum by Daniel Libeskind symbolises three historical  aspects of Jewish life in Germany – Exile,  Holocaust and Continuity.

There are three striking sculptural exhibits

The  Holocaust Tower is an eerie , silent  and dark vertical space with shafts of light piercing through.

Over 10,000 faces cut from iron plates , cover the floor of the Memory Void.

And outside, the Garden of Exile features 49 stalae laid out on slanting ground which causes mixed feelings of hope and disorientation.

The museum features photographs documenting darker elements the Holocaust.

And on a lighter note it features pictures of allied soldiers sitting in Hitler’s personal bathtub after the Nazis fell.

There is also an exhibit of Great Jews who  left Gernany and changed the the world for the better.