The Memorial of the Places of Memory (Orte des Erinners) is located in a district of Berlin where many people of Jewish faith and culture lived before the war. Provocative and intrusive, it draws the attention of passers-by to the anti-Semitic laws of the National Socialist era.
A Visit to the Memorial of the Places of Memory Is Optional.
National Socialism had a racial interpretation of historical phenomena. In its apocalyptic conception of the world, it believed in a millennial confrontation between two major and irremediably antagonistic biological groups: the Aryan race and the Semitic races, of which the Jews were the most dangerous component because of their perfidy and domination. The distinctive feature of National Socialism was its desire to settle this conflict once and for all in a fight to the death. Consequently, anti-Semitism was to be the main driving force behind all its policies.
The broad outlines of National Socialist anti-Semitism had already been theorized in the 1920s. However, anti-Semitic measures had to be gradual in order to avoid a backlash from the population. Between 1933 and 1945, over 10,000 laws and decrees were passed against the Jews. The aim was twofold: to de-Judaize Germany and de-Germanize the Jews. Each new measure paved the way for the next. Eventually, non-Jews were to lose all empathy and regard the Jewish question as problematic.
Long forgotten and ignored, many of the anti-Semitic laws were rediscovered during the memory revolution of the 1980s in Germany. It was against this backdrop that, in 1993, artists Renata Stih and Frieder Schnock inaugurated a decentralized memorial in the streets of the Bavarian Quarter, reminding us of the realities of anti-Semitism in the daily lives of ordinary people persecuted because they were Jewish.
Provoking Reaction or Indifference
The Memorial of Places of Memory is made up of 80 signs placed high up on signposts and lampposts. They cover the entire neighborhood, scattered along the sidewalks at varying distances. It's not easy to find all the plaques: a little patience and observation are sometimes required. On the other hand, if you look up before crossing the road, you may discover one by chance.
Each panel has two sides. One is a minimalist, childlike illustration of an everyday object. The other is a condensed version, in one or two sentences, of the anti-Semitic decree associated with it. The drawing of a thermometer refers to the ban on Jews practicing medicine. The drawing of a loaf of bread indicates the obligation to shop only during authorized hours. A cat refers to the prohibition on owning pets.
Most anti-Semitic laws seem benign because they are too specific and rooted in everyday life. On the contrary, they help to trivialize persecution. This restrictive process excludes Jewish Germans from the national community. In its apparent simplicity, the memorial succeeds in transcribing the misfortune of ordinary people progressively deprived of all rights. It calls into question the general indifference or passive acceptance of the time, taking today's passers-by both as witnesses and parties. A look in the mirror that made sense in 1993, but is now completely outdated, counterproductive and potentially dangerous.
The Importance of Context
A memorial tells a story that is not in the past tense. It is contemporary with the era in which it was conceived. It is a marker of social evolution, whether it is the initiator or the result. The memorial work is therefore part of a particular context from which it cannot be dissociated. Finally, it expresses a message that is sometimes provocative, sometimes cathartic.
The Memorial of the Places of Memory is set against the backdrop of the 1980s and the struggle against ignorance of the Holocaust in German society. This surge of remembrance began with the approach of the fiftieth anniversary of the November 1938 Pogroms, and gave rise to the inauguration of several memorials committed to the occupation of public space. This approach involves influencing urban geographies in order to challenge and empower the population. The artistic forms are often violent and brutal, and effectively provoke reactions. In 1993, during the installation of the Memorial of the Places of Memory, several residents alerted the police that intruders were posting anti-Semitic slogans in their neighborhood.
The revolution of the 1980s-1990s led to the adoption of a new memorial policy in Germany which, with a few exceptions, is unanimously supported today. At that point, the old memorials could have been musealized and replaced by new projects in tune with the times. Indeed, their mission is no longer to initiate a national debate. And yet, these works have become sacralized in the public space in the name of the duty to remember.
Displaying anti-Semitic texts in the street without any moderation or contextualization in terms of memory, not history, is a provocation. In 2023, what does the Memorial of the Places of Memory provoke if not a gratuitous guilt-tripping of the population, their incomprehension and sometimes even their indifference? We also regret the exclusive use of German, which continues to make anti-Semitism a strictly national issue, frozen in time. The responsibility of the artists is engaged, but they probably don't live in the neighborhood they have profoundly affected.
Reasons to Visit
A game of discovery in the city
A reflection of the 1980s-1990s
The contrast between drawing and text
Reasons to Skip
A misguided concept and message
Lack of contextualization
Provocation rather than education
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