Stomped Swastikas & Holocaust Memories in Berlin

Last week I wrote about two places in Berlin — the ruins of the Kaiser Wilhelm Gedächtniskirche, or Memorial Church, and the Checkpoint Charlie Museum — that record and memorialize aspects of the German experience during the Second World War.

Both do well enough in making historically accurate points. Berlin was indeed schmatzed in air raid after air raid during the war, and escaping East Germany after the Berlin Wall’s construction in 1961 was a harrowing affair. I dispute the relevance of both the memorial and the museum, given their mixed messages. Today I’ll write about memorials I visited that seem more effective, either through poignancy or blunt admonition.

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Brian T. Allen

Brian T. Allen is National Review’s art critic.

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Last week I wrote about two places in Berlin — the ruins of the Kaiser Wilhelm Gedächtniskirche, or Memorial Church, and the Checkpoint Charlie Museum — that record and memorialize aspects of the German experience during the Second World War.

Both do well enough in making historically accurate points. Berlin was indeed schmatzed in air raid after air raid during the war, and escaping East Germany after the Berlin Wall’s construction in 1961 was a harrowing affair. I dispute the relevance of both the memorial and the museum, given their mixed messages. Today I’ll write about memorials I visited that seem more effective, either through poignancy or blunt admonition.