Day 3 - "We are put on earth to be human"

Vergangenheitsbewältigung; the key term in the study of post-1945 Germany describing the process of struggling to deal with, or coming to terms with the past. 

Vergangenheit = past

Bewältigung = coming to terms with, mastering, 

Throughout the process of creating this drama, I've been thinking more and more about the way Germans have come to terms with what their predecessors or ancestors went through; either as perpetrator, bystander or victim. When remembering the build up to the tragedy of the Holocaust, we must take into account that many German citizens who were not Jews were totally swept away with the powerful, persuading speeches that Hitler and the Nazi party delivered. It's hard to really know, from the perspective of a native Brit and also a student of German, whether people really believed the ideals of the Nazi party. Themes to consider are: confrontation, silence, outrage, remembrance and reconciliation.

Will there ever come a time when Germany will ever stop feeling the burden of what happened to the millions of Jews, homosexuals and ethnic minorities, who were murdered?

In previous weeks, Anthony asked the group whether it is better to forget the bad things we have done and move on, or should we remember and learn the lessons? Here was the feedback:

"If something bad happens then it can grow into a fear and it can stunt you from doing things. You’ve got to remember that it is in the past, it is a mistake you've made and you know not to do it again."

So, taking this into consideration for this week's session, Anthony asked the group to consider memorials as a way to deal with the past, to channel emotions and lessons learnt in something physical. Pictured in the sidebar, are some of the global memorials (Denkmal) in Germany.

In groups of 3 on an A2 poster, the young people came up with visual and theatrical forms of memorials which focussed on the following questions:

• What should holocaust memorials in the UK should look like? 
• Who is it for? 
• What is the function? Never forget? 

The brief – 

• Draw – an abstract one 
• Present - one that uses people in it 
• Discussion - after the presentation 
• Never again – how do you make sure the Holocaust never happens again?

Group 1:

Rebecca, Alicia, Sam

The Impossible Triangle.

Within the triangle an hourglass is suspended, however as the impossible triangle never ends - therefore the 'memories cannot drain away like sand.'

Group 2:

Jonah, Amber, Megan

24 bulbs, illuminating a Star of David in the middle. One bulb goes out on the hour, every hour so that eventually the Star of David is no longer visible. Using light and dark to represent the destruction of family homes and Jewish lives, this group's visual idea creates a high-impact memorial. 

Group 3:

Erin, Alfie, Leon

Essentially a globe, within which a flame never stops burning

Group 4:

Lyle, Katie, Thomas

Two sides to the memorial: Maze vs. Museum

"This side won't be brutal, it will be interesting"

"One side is a maze which represents the feeling of being trapped"

Group 5:

Rory, Ella, Sam

I don't have a photograph of group 5's final presentation, but like Jews had to wear the yellow Star of David on their clothes, Roma people had to wear a pink triangle and homosexuals had to wear a red triangle. This group came up with two visual ways to represent the triangles. First, they imagined an hourglass to symbolise the impending trickle of time, within that image they imagined two triangles. Easily presented visually by Person 1 standing with their arms in a V shape and Person 2 standing behind them, with their arms in an up-side down V  shape. 

Second, the group imagined an interactive memorial. This seemed much more difficult for their audience to understand. Picture this - two triangles laid flat one on top of the other. Next, there is a 'pole' that goes through the centre or edge (depending on which is more logistically viable) of the two triangles. Viewers of the memorial are invited to move and arrange the two triangles, which eventually should fit into place to form either the Star of David or two interlocking triangles (one pink, one red). I admired the group's creativity and abstract ideas, despite one flaw containing the long debated question; should a memorial be enjoyed? Ella explained that the whole point of this memorial was to make viewers 'think'. Well said.