Berlin, Germany (19^th November 2008)

For a city which is steeped in 20^th century history and with an eclectic assortment of architecture, chancing upon this architectural beauty in the heart of Berlin was not surprising. But realizing that it was actually a Holocaust memorial constructed in the memory of all the Jews murdered by Hitler’s Nazi regime was disquieting. The concrete blocks called steles kept getting bigger and bigger as I weaved through them to the center of the memorial, and I was increasingly gripped with a sense of isolation and dejection. This depressing but architecturally interesting memorial serves as a stark reminder to the Germans of that period of history which they would rather forget.