MEGUERDITCHIAN: LESSONS FROM BERLIN
by Varant Meguerditchian
November 29, 2012
Covering an area of 19,000 sqm (4.7 acres) and comprised of 2,711
stelae concrete blocks ranging in height from 0.2 meters to 4.8 meters
(8 inches to 15 feet 9 inches) is the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of
Europe.The memorial is located in Berlin within sight of the German
capital’s famous Brandenburg Gate following a decision by the German
Parliament to honor the memory of the victims of the Jewish Holocaust.
Wholly funded by the Federal Republic of Germany, the memorial
took almost six years to construct and cost more than ~@25 million
($32 million).
German children on a student tour of the Memorial.
The day I decide to take a walking tour of the memorial, the
temperature is just below freezing. This has not stopped tourist
buses from banking up on all four sides of the block. People are
everywhere; Berliners, visitors, and school students are making their
way through the maze of stelae. As I stroll through the memorial,
every turn is unpredictable-I encounter a new face, a new person,
as if symbolizing the millions of faceless victims of the Holocaust
for whom the monument was built.
Beneath the stelae is a Holocaust museum. The Starting Hall is home to
a permanent exhibition that chronicles the rise of the Nazi movement
and the subsequent destruction of the European Jewry. Its final
display reads, “The total number of Jews murdered in the area under
German control is between 5.4 million and 6 million.” The next room
showcases first-hand accounts of the experiences of Holocaust victims.
Another room describes Jewish family life in pre-World War II Germany.
The Room of Names holds a database of every known victim of the Jewish
Holocaust, their short biographies, and how they met their death. The
final room is the Yad Vashem Room. A room dedicated to the Jewish
Holocaust monument in Israel.
I wait for 20 minutes in the cold for my turn to enter the museum. The
queue is long because of the sheer number of visitors and the security
checkpoint through which we have to pass. Inside, visitors stand
shoulder to shoulder, and at times three or four deep, to read the
displays. They take photographs, watch videos, search the computer
terminals that keep a directory of all the Holocaust monuments in
Europe, and browse the database for victims, possibly even ones known
to them.
Huddled in groups, German students listen to the guides as they
tell the horrors of the Holocaust. Some parents explain to their
children in German what happened to the Jews of Europe. The memorial
and museum are a place for education and reflection; a place where
the descendants of the perpetrators of the Jewish Holocaust learn
about the events for which their ancestors were responsible; a place
in the heart of Berlin, where Germans, young and old, vow to never
allow such horrible events to happen again.
As I walk through the memorial first and then the museum, my mind
wonders: What if Turkey were to build an Armenian Genocide monument?
It would be within sight of Taksim Square and would contain a museum.
Within the museum, there would be a room dedicated to the
Dzidzernagapert in Yerevan, to honor the way Armenians remember the
genocide. Another room would display the Armenian Genocide monuments
built by diasporan communities around the world. A life-size map of
the Armenian Genocide would show the destruction route of Armenians
along their ancestral homelands. Information on Armenian life in
Western Armenia prior to the genocide would be a prominent feature of
the museum. The resolutions passed in legislative bodies around the
world repeatedly calling for Turkey to recognize the genocide, and
the Turkish Parliament’s own resolution acknowledging and apologizing
for this horrible crime would be openly displayed on the walls. Tours
would be organized for Turkish students to take ownership of the
history of the Armenian Genocide. Turkish parents would take their
children to the memorial to familiarize themselves and learn from
this episode in Armenian history…
The site of the information desk at the Memorial to the Murdered Jews
of Europe brings me back to reality. I notice that the memorial is not
only a site for Berliners to reflect on history; among the information
booklets that are available in 20 languages, I spot the words
“Katledilen Avrupali Yahudiler Aniti Ve Bilgi Merkezi,” presumably
for Turks to learn about the destruction of the European Jewry.
There are 300,000 Turks in Berlin and a much larger number-up to 4
million-scattered throughout Germany. Many maintain close ties with
Turkey and are well placed to learn from the German experience. They
have the opportunity to be the agent for change in Turkey and to
encourage the Ottoman successor to face its own history.
Unfortunately, however, the Turks of Germany have so far not
demonstrated a readiness to play this role; nor has the Turkish
government been willing to learn from the German experience. Far from
demonstrating genuine remorse, Turkey more and more aggressively
denies the Armenian Genocide. Turkish leaders continue to threaten
nations that acknowledge the historical reality of the Armenian
Genocide. A revised version of history is taught to students in
Turkish schools. Intellectuals who speak about the Armenian Genocide
are persecuted. Armenians are considered liars, the Armenian lobby
is denounced, and the Republic of Armenia is considered an enemy.
While a monument to the victims of the Armenian Genocide in Turkey
would be only one component of a just resolution of the Armenian
Genocide, it would serve as a vital reminder of this tragic event
to future Turkish generations. Until such a monument is built in
Turkey, all Turkish citizens need to do to learn about and remember
the Armenian Genocide is visit the open air museums of blackened city
quarters and old ruined churches in the east of their Republic where
Armenians once lived and thrived.
From: Baghdasarian
http://www.armenianweekly.com/2012/11/29/meguerditchian-lessons-from-berlin/