On not forgetting

You have to give the Germans a lot of credit. One of the worst crimes of the Twentieth Century was committed with the compliance of their people. And now, they are determined to continue to remember what happened. Good for them.

Germany Confronts Holocaust Legacy Anew

Most countries celebrate the best in their pasts. Germany unrelentingly promotes its worst.

The enormous Holocaust memorial that dominates a chunk of central Berlin was completed only after years of debate. But the building of monuments to the Nazi disgrace continues unabated.

On Monday, Germany’s minister of culture, Bernd Neumann, announced that construction could begin in Berlin on two monuments: one near the Reichstag, to the murdered Gypsies, known here as the Sinti and the Roma; and another not far from the Brandenburg Gate, to gays and lesbians killed in the Holocaust.

In November Germany broke ground on the long-delayed Topography of Terror center at the site of the former Gestapo and SS headquarters. And in October, a huge new exhibition opened at the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp. At the Dachau camp, outside Munich, a new visitor center is set to open this summer. The city of Erfurt is planning a museum dedicated to the crematoriums. There are currently two exhibitions about the role of the German railways in delivering millions to their deaths.

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Comments

  1. CDR Salamander wrote:

    The Dachau camp is done very well. Very good presentation and perspective as well as structure. Very much worth a visit if you find yourself in Bavaria or Austria.

    They don’t beat you over the head (unlike some of the cr@p at the Smithsonian et al) - they provide facts and perspective (in German and English in everything - and other languages where they can).

    Very impressive, and classy (if you can call it that) job.

  2. Pigilito wrote:

    The Germans really do step up and take responsibility, which is why it’s hard to hold some of their early opposition to the Iraq war against them. They really are, for the most part, heartfelt about their convictions.