Berlin Holocaust Memorial

The Berlin Holocaust Memorial, March 2008

The Berlin Holocaust Memorial is a quadriculated geometric environment devoid of any markings. Yet each stone cube is unique and slightly asymmetric. It is a good place to meditate. It does not remind me of death, but it feels like a very cold and lonely place.

At first I was shocked at the sterile and, well, inhuman, structure that was the memorial. I wanted to feel a more personal, human connection to those people who suffered and died in that terrible time. But on that cold, grey day, as I photographed the very abstractness of the location, I began to notice the subtle differences in each stone slab, some very small, almost flat to the ground, others rising much taller than a human being. The slabs were not uniform cubes. Each one seemed to possess some asymmetry, some individuality.

It was an unusually effective place to meditate and ponder. I heard, but never saw, the sounds of children playing amongst the blocks of stone. Those sounds reminded me of life against the coldly indifferent, unchanging, unique slabs that spread out in all directions.

I normally end my photo blogs with the word "Enjoy!", but that does not seem appropriate for this entry. I prefer to leave you with thoughts of shape, substance, time, connection, life, eternity.

In these times of war, torture, corruption and abuse of power, let us remember so that we may never forget.

Radzfoto