The Ghosts of Berlin: Confronting German History in the Urban Landscape

by Brian Ladd

Advocates of these “countermonuments” feared that the effect, or even the purpose, of Rosh’s central memorial would be to separate the events of the Third Reich from the collective memory of the city.38 They saw it as a step backward, a large version of the all-too-harmless signs that have stood in two squares in Schoneberg since 1967. Each of these signs lists the names of ten (since 1995, twelve) concentration camps under the heading, “Places of terror that we must never forget.” The signs, though they probably still shock some passersby, have long been mocked for the apparently arbitrary placement that makes them easy to ignore. If it is built, the new memorial will of course be far more impressive—at least in size—and will dominate its surroundings more effectively. But it will also be more permanent, a final statement rather than an invitation to discussion or interaction. Berliners quickly scorned the project as a “wreath-dumping place” (Kranzabwurfstelle). As a protest, Stih and Schnock entered the competition with a proposal to devote the land to a bus stop from which visitors could catch rides to the authentic sites of concentration camps.