The Holocaust Memorial (Berlin)

The Holocaust Memorial or Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, to give it its full official title, was opened on the 60 years anniversary of the end of the Second World War. Located close to the Brandenburg Gate, it is a much visited attraction on cheap city breaks in Berlin, which has garnered praise and controversy in equal measure since its opening. If features 2,711 smooth grey stone slabs which bear no markings or names and dates and each one is uniquely different in terms of size and shape. It creates an unsettling, disorientating feeling as you walk among them.

 

There is no set pattern to the stones and visitors can walk among them in any direction. It is open all day and night and gracefully illuminated after dark. Below the stones is an underground museum which gives a powerful and thought provoking insight into the scale of the holocaust in Europe. The names of all known victims are projected onto bare walls and there are very personal effects and film and audio depicting the very darkest days of European history. On short breaks in Berlin, you will find it a powerful and evocative exhibition that is handled with great sensitivity.

 

Admission into the Holocaust Memorial is free and donations are welcomed. While on weekend breaks in Berlin, you can enjoy guided tours in English each Sunday which give a telling insight into the historical background of the Holocaust in Europe as well as an understanding of the modern Jewish experience in Germany today. Audio tours include haunting testimonies and personal stories from Holocaust survivors and historians and try to bring to life the enormity and scale of the horror.