A Tale of Two Cities: Remembrance in Berlin and Philadelphia

A Comparative Analysis of the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe (Berlin, Germany) and the President's House: Freedom and Slavery in the Making of a New Nation (Philadelphia, USA)

From the horrific Holocaust to the merciless oppression of enslaved individuals of African descent, the histories of Germany and the United States each have their fair share of a tainted past. Germany, in particular, has been noted for grappling with its horrors and mistakes through the concept of Vergangenheitsbewältigung, or "working through the past," and a culture of remembrance. In fact, as the United States attempts to do the same in the 21st century in the realm of slavery and historical anti-Blackness, many German and American scholars alike have pointed to Germany as a role model (Beorn 2018; Neiman 2019). Given the rise of increased awareness and consideration given to remembrance, it is essential to analyze to what extent this concept manifests in the United States and how it compares to the approach taken in Germany. 

An investigation and comparison of the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, also known as the Holocaust Memorial, in Germany with the President's House: Freedom and Slavery in the Making of a New Nation in the United States reveals that the concept of "working through the past" exists in both nations but manifests in different ways. Specifically, Germany's efforts are more federally supported, center on the victims of violence and oppression, and incorporate aesthetically impactful elements into memorials. In contrast, the United States' efforts focus on centering powerful leaders and governmental context as opposed to victims themselves, as well as directly educating the public. Moreover, although German remembrance is hailed as an example for the United States to learn from, the nations can learn from each other to create memorials that are more balanced in their choices between centering victims versus leaders, as well as incorporating both aesthetics and education.

Two Memorials in Two Cities

The Holocaust Memorial and The President's House: Freedom and Slavery in the Making of a New Nation serve as strategic choices for comparing Germany and the United States' approaches to working through the past. This is due to the fact that both memorials are federally funded and located in cities that played a key role in the nations' overall histories, meaning that each memorial can be seen as a compelling example of each nation's overarching, central stance on remembrance. 

The Holocaust Memorial is in Berlin, Germany's capital and a city with one of the largest Jewish populations prior to World War II (Seemann 2016). Initial ideas for a memorial to honor the Jewish victims of the Holocaust were sparked by private German historians and journalists. However, the Bundestag, the German federal parliament, soon passed a resolution and created a federal foundation to support the project. In the United States, the Freedom and Slavery memorial is similarly located in a historically significant city, namely Philadelphia, which is known for being home to Independence Hall, where the Constitution was signed. Specifically, the memorial is embedded in the site of the nation's first executive mansion in which Presidents George Washington and John Adams lived, along with nine enslaved individuals of African descent (Visit Philadelphia 2022). After the Black community in the region protested the lack of mention of slavery at the President's House site, the memorial was added as a "compromise" and seeks to "explore the paradox of slavery and freedom" during the nation's founding (National Park Planner 2020). Being supported by $3.6 million in federal funds via the National Park Service, this memorial is the only federally funded slave memorial in the United States (Wofford et al. 2015).

It is important to note that even the apparent common ground between these two memorials, in terms of location and federally funded status, reveals differences in the level of seriousness and commitment to working through the past. The Holocaust Memorial was dedicated in 2005, with ideation efforts beginning as early as the 1980s, merely 40 years after the end of the Holocaust. On the other hand, the Freedom and Slavery memorial was dedicated in 2010, 145 years after the passage of the 13th Amendment abolishing slavery (Cohen et. al 2020). The fact that the United States federal government took over a century to fund its first slavery memorial highlights that Germany has made swifter progress in its commitment to Vergangenheitsbewältigung, and the government is not shying away from the cause.

Centering Victims Versus Leaders

Even beyond the basic characteristics of the two memorials, a reflection on the memorials' purpose and programs reveals distinctions in Germany's and the United States' approaches to remembering and confronting their past. At face value, both memorials intend to acknowledge instances of racial or religious violence and oppression against a victim group. However, while the Holocaust Memorial centers its entire attention on the victim group itself, the Freedom and Slavery memorial focuses equally on the nation's powerful leaders and factors that supported oppression. This difference is both seen in the textual and visual aspects of the memorial programs.

The Holocaust Memorial is said to be "a place of remembrance and commemoration for the up to six million Jewish victims of the Holocaust," a description that immediately highlights and honors the vast population of victims that were subject to German atrocities (Stiftung Denkmal Für Die Ermordeten Juden Europas 2022). In contrast, the Freedom and Slavery memorial mentions "slavery" as only one word in its entire name, and it is advertised as giving a "long-obscured glimpse into the lives of the enslaved Africans who toiled at the house during Washington’s presidency" (Visit Philadelphia 2022). Thus, rather than giving sole attention to slavery's victims, it acknowledges slavery as one aspect of its program, as a blemish compared to the United States' overall success and the lives of traditionally revered presidents. Furthermore, by only engraving the names of the nine slaves who served George Washington on the memorial slab, it focuses on the slaves within the immediate context of the United States leaders, rather than honoring the victims of slavery as a broader institution.

This contrast is also depicted in the visual aspects of the memorials. The Holocaust Memorial consists of a 200,000 square feet site with 2,711 concrete slabs approximately 21 feet in area and up to 15 feet in height each (Stiftung Denkmal Für Die Ermordeten Juden Europas 2022). The grandeur of the site, entirely dedicated to Jewish Holocaust victims, demonstrates that the victims are given their own reserved physical space, a well-established analog for power and importance. Meanwhile, the Freedom and Slavery memorial is contained within a brick faux-facade of George Washington's house next to a city street (National Park Planner 2020). Coupled with the fact that the memorial was built as a "compromise" with the Black community, the fact that it was not given its own space shows that the area's remembrance is split between the slaves and the presidents themselves. 

Balancing Aesthetics and Education

In addition to their role as an object for remembrance, the two memorials also differ in their balance between education and aesthetics. Designed by renowned architect Peter Eisenman and artist Richard Serra, the Holocaust Memorial had its aesthetic aspects and design choices prioritized since conception. Although the memorial does not immediately strike as an object of beauty, this is perhaps appropriate given the devastating nature of the Holocaust. Rather, the aesthetic choices are crucial to enhancing the memorial's ability to serve as an object of remembrance. The expansive field-like grid of the large and tall gray concrete slabs is said to represent a "radical approach" to memorial design, given that the number of slabs has no symbolic meaning, and the slabs are uneven and irregularly placed (Chin 2016). As revealed by Eisenman's project text, this radical approach seeks to induce unease and showcase "disturbances and chaos" in a seemingly "orderly system," representative of the destruction and lack of rationality characteristic of the Holocaust (Eisenman 2005). Additionally, Wolfgang Thierse of the German parliament has described the place as one where visitors can grasp "loneliness, powerlessness, and despair" - the same emotions felt by Jews during the Holocaust (Emcke 2016). Thus, when walking through the tall, dark slabs of the memorial, visitors, many of whom compare it to a cemetery, are forced to "confront the topic in [their] own personal way" as they lose themselves in the grid's depths (Visit Berlin 2022). Notably, the slabs carry no text naming the Jewish victims, a choice believed to depict the countless and unimaginable number of Jews killed in the Holocaust. Instead, a separate Room of Names with known victims' names is located in an Information Bureau, which also features Holocaust timelines and visual depictions of 15 Jewish families' cruel fates (Visit Berlin 2022). The educational Bureau itself is discreetly located on the far eastern edge, secondary to the extensive grid of more aesthetic value.  

On the other hand, Freedom and Slavery memorial program puts its educational component front and center as opposed to its aesthetic features. This difference is likely due to two reasons. First, because the memorial is embedded within the faux-facade of George Washington's house, visitors' aesthetic attention is likely to be devoted to the house itself, which is related to honoring United States presidents rather than slavery. Consequently, the memorial's visual elements relevant to slavery instead focus on remembrance, rather than competing with the existing aesthetics of Washington's house. For example, the walls include television sets with colorful paintings, videos about George Washington's enslaved cook and house servants, and text-heavy panels explaining the "dirty business of slavery" and the role of "slavery in a growing nation" (National Park Planner 2020). Second, the memorial was funded by the United States National Park Service, an organization that is known for its child-friendly educational "Parks as Classrooms" programs and appeals to broad tourist populations (National Park Service 2022). Thus, in line with its emphasis on learning for the average American tourist, it encourages visitors to explore the educational aspects to gain "different perspectives of this complex and powerful story," rather than assuming they have the prerequisite knowledge (Visit Philadelphia 2022).

Concluding Remarks

 The contrasting styles between these two memorials demonstrate that while both nations' governments have taken steps to work through the past through funded memorials in historic cities, their approaches differ in their specific priorities and styles. The United States' approach can certainly be criticized for not committing itself entirely to enslaved people and simultaneously drawing attention to the grandeur of the United States' democracy and Founding Fathers. At the same time, it demonstrates a willingness to take the blame and accept that slavery was not an isolated horrific incidence but was present even in the lives of presidents who have traditionally been revered as heroes. In parallel, Germany's strategy of putting visitors in a position of discomfort that requires them to experience the pain related to the Holocaust, rather than watching or reading about it as a mere observer, can be commended for its emphasis on aesthetics and immersion. Nevertheless, by portraying the memorial as an abstract tribute to victims rather than an educational platform that makes concrete references to the Nazi's violence, it inadvertently absolves the German state from expressing direct responsibility and ownership for causing the victim's pain in the first place.

As the United States and Germany continue to grapple with their past, these two pioneering memorials will inevitably face controversies. The Holocaust Memorial has been criticized for its lack of educational material and explicit mention of the Nazis to combat a growing Holocaust denier movement. In parallel, the United States federal government is being demanded to fund memorials and monuments exclusively dedicated to the victims of slavery. Clearly, both nations have the opportunity to learn from one another's diverse approaches in developing memorials that both honor victims and openly acknowledge the nation's leaders' malpractices, and that both embrace abstract beauty and firmly inform citizens. By doing so, the two nations can amplify a culture of remembrance into a commitment toward improving their present-day actions - condemning anti-Semitism and anti-Blackness in the 21st century, ultimately preventing history from repeating itself.

References

This article was originally written for GERMAN 101: Germany in 5 Words, a course at Stanford University.

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