Memorial

Towards the beginning of the year Ms. Vander Pluym told our group about the different memorials we will see when we travel to Germany, Poland, and the Czech Republic. I remember Ms. Vander Pluym asking us what we thought a proper memorial was. She told us to keep the question in mind, how to memorialize such devastation and loss because we will be creating our own memorials. Memorial, it is different for everyone. Some feel a memorial is names carved into a wall while others feel it is stone structures in a field.

I was thinking a great deal about how to accurately construct a memorial that represents the Holocaust. I came up with the idea of making a box constructed completely out of glass and covering the walls of the glass would be a black curtain. People would have to take the initiative to pull aside the curtain and see what is behind the curtain. I equate my memorial to how Hitler covered up the persecution happening throughout Europe. In reality people would be able to see right through what Hitler and his assistants were doing if they only had the courage to peel away the veil Hitler used to cover his actions.

I feel there is no right way to accurately memorialize the Holocaust. Each memorial depends on the person and how they interpret the event. Memorial is different for everyone-there is no scientific method on how to make a memorial-it all depends on people and their actions and reactions to events.

Sania Durovic