From far away the array of concrete rectangular blocks might seem almost unremarkable. But step just a few metres into the grid and the weight of the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe begins to sink in, quite literally.  In the capital of Nazi Germany, the specter of the holocaust is everywhere – even underfoot, with small brass commemorative “Stolepersteine” plates scattered in the city’s pavements. Designed by Jewish American architect Peter Eisenman and opened in May 2005, this memorial stands as Germany’s largest tribute to the 6 millions Jews killed by the Nazi regime in the heart of its reunified capital. Located south of the Brandenburg Gate, right across from the US embassy and the beautiful Tiergarten, you’ll be met with a field of 27111 concrete steel slabs spanning about 19,000 square meters. Starting only at hip or even knee height, the blocks allow for easy navigation and sight. Yet soon enough the ground dips and the blocks grow taller, beginning to envelop you at nearly 4 metres high as you lose sight of the outside world. Companions and footsteps fade away between the paths. 

Feelings of unease set in. The site is meant to evoke exactly that. 

The design invites personal reflection. Many interpret the experience as representing the Nazi regime’s initial mild and distant threat that gradually creeps up on you, suffocating and disorienting you until you are completely ensnared. The immersive experience forces you to sit with your discomfort viscerally, and reflect on the horrors inflicted upon the Jews. At Berlin’s Holocaust Memorial, discomfort and disorientation tell a story words cannot.