Walking the Passages at the Field of Stelae, the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, Berlin

Day 3 afternoon

After visiting the bombed out church, we continued to explore the city on foot passing by some modern buildings.

Field of Stelae at the  Holocaust Memorial, Berlin

The Field of Stelae is made up of 2711 concrete blocks covering over 19,000 square meters in the heart of Berlin.























The slabs are of various heights, from very low close to the ground to the height of a person.

We walked along the alleys of the Field of Stelae. There was enough space for one person only in the passages

.

People could  get lost there easily.
 After walking there for a few minutes, I lost my  family and they were nowhere to be seen.

I was a little confused, disoriented and lost myself while walking in the passages.

Walking among the slabs gave me time to think about what had happened to so many innocent lives in this country and across Europe.

People can learn more from the Museum at the Holocaust Museum

Since we didn't know much about this Holocaust Memorial, we wanted to learn more about it. We joined the line going down to the museum underground.

We took time to read the stories and desperation of the victims 

Visiting the Holocaust Memorial was a touching experience.

 We took our time looking at the pictures and reading the stories and documentations in the subterranean museum. The victims' cries and desperation were evident through their displayed written words.

The Story of one of the Holocaust victims displayed at the Museum

We have learned about how the Jews were discriminated and persecuted in Europe before.

But the Museum put faces to some of the victims and it made what we have heard and learned from the textbooks so much more personal and touching.

Translation of one of the victims' words

Some of the entries and dairies revealed the deep fear of those being imprisoned at the concentration camp.

Reading those last words, I had chills down my spine.





The holocaust was the darkest chapter in Germany's history.

However, I admired the German people's admission of their crimes and guilt. 

Their willingness to put their past mistakes on display in such a public way at the heart of Berlin should be an example to many other countries which have committed war crimes and atrocities against many innocent people, but are still denying their wrong doings.

R.T.
Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe
Berlin, Germany