MEGUERDITCHIAN: LESSONS FROM BERLIN

[Yervant1]

MEGUERDITCHIAN: LESSONS FROM BERLIN

by Varant Meguerditchian

 

http://www.armenianweekly.com/2012/11/29/meguerditchian-lessons-from-berlin/

November 29, 2012

 

Covering an area of 19,000 sqm (4.7 acres) and comprised of 2,711

stelae concrete blocks ranging in height from 0.2 meters to 4.8 meters

(8 inches to 15 feet 9 inches) is the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of

Europe.The memorial is located in Berlin within sight of the German

capital's famous Brandenburg Gate following a decision by the German

Parliament to honor the memory of the victims of the Jewish Holocaust.

 

Wholly funded by the Federal Republic of Germany, the memorial

took almost six years to construct and cost more than ~@25 million

($32 million).

 

German children on a student tour of the Memorial.

 

The day I decide to take a walking tour of the memorial, the

temperature is just below freezing. This has not stopped tourist

buses from banking up on all four sides of the block. People are

everywhere; Berliners, visitors, and school students are making their

way through the maze of stelae. As I stroll through the memorial,

every turn is unpredictable-I encounter a new face, a new person,

as if symbolizing the millions of faceless victims of the Holocaust

for whom the monument was built.

 

Beneath the stelae is a Holocaust museum. The Starting Hall is home to

a permanent exhibition that chronicles the rise of the Nazi movement

and the subsequent destruction of the European Jewry. Its final

display reads, "The total number of Jews murdered in the area under

German control is between 5.4 million and 6 million." The next room

showcases first-hand accounts of the experiences of Holocaust victims.

 

Another room describes Jewish family life in pre-World War II Germany.

 

The Room of Names holds a database of every known victim of the Jewish

Holocaust, their short biographies, and how they met their death. The

final room is the Yad Vashem Room. A room dedicated to the Jewish

Holocaust monument in Israel.

 

I wait for 20 minutes in the cold for my turn to enter the museum. The

queue is long because of the sheer number of visitors and the security

checkpoint through which we have to pass. Inside, visitors stand

shoulder to shoulder, and at times three or four deep, to read the

displays. They take photographs, watch videos, search the computer

terminals that keep a directory of all the Holocaust monuments in

Europe, and browse the database for victims, possibly even ones known

to them.

 

Huddled in groups, German students listen to the guides as they

tell the horrors of the Holocaust. Some parents explain to their

children in German what happened to the Jews of Europe. The memorial

and museum are a place for education and reflection; a place where

the descendants of the perpetrators of the Jewish Holocaust learn

about the events for which their ancestors were responsible; a place

in the heart of Berlin, where Germans, young and old, vow to never

allow such horrible events to happen again.

 

As I walk through the memorial first and then the museum, my mind

wonders: What if Turkey were to build an Armenian Genocide monument?

 

It would be within sight of Taksim Square and would contain a museum.

 

Within the museum, there would be a room dedicated to the

Dzidzernagapert in Yerevan, to honor the way Armenians remember the

genocide. Another room would display the Armenian Genocide monuments

built by diasporan communities around the world. A life-size map of

the Armenian Genocide would show the destruction route of Armenians

along their ancestral homelands. Information on Armenian life in

Western Armenia prior to the genocide would be a prominent feature of

the museum. The resolutions passed in legislative bodies around the

world repeatedly calling for Turkey to recognize the genocide, and

the Turkish Parliament's own resolution acknowledging and apologizing

for this horrible crime would be openly displayed on the walls. Tours

would be organized for Turkish students to take ownership of the

history of the Armenian Genocide. Turkish parents would take their

children to the memorial to familiarize themselves and learn from

this episode in Armenian history...

 

The site of the information desk at the Memorial to the Murdered Jews

of Europe brings me back to reality. I notice that the memorial is not

only a site for Berliners to reflect on history; among the information

booklets that are available in 20 languages, I spot the words

"Katledilen Avrupali Yahudiler Aniti Ve Bilgi Merkezi," presumably

for Turks to learn about the destruction of the European Jewry.

 

There are 300,000 Turks in Berlin and a much larger number-up to 4

million-scattered throughout Germany. Many maintain close ties with

Turkey and are well placed to learn from the German experience. They

have the opportunity to be the agent for change in Turkey and to

encourage the Ottoman successor to face its own history.

 

Unfortunately, however, the Turks of Germany have so far not

demonstrated a readiness to play this role; nor has the Turkish

government been willing to learn from the German experience. Far from

demonstrating genuine remorse, Turkey more and more aggressively

denies the Armenian Genocide. Turkish leaders continue to threaten

nations that acknowledge the historical reality of the Armenian

Genocide. A revised version of history is taught to students in

Turkish schools. Intellectuals who speak about the Armenian Genocide

are persecuted. Armenians are considered liars, the Armenian lobby

is denounced, and the Republic of Armenia is considered an enemy.

 

While a monument to the victims of the Armenian Genocide in Turkey

would be only one component of a just resolution of the Armenian

Genocide, it would serve as a vital reminder of this tragic event

to future Turkish generations. Until such a monument is built in

Turkey, all Turkish citizens need to do to learn about and remember

the Armenian Genocide is visit the open air museums of blackened city

quarters and old ruined churches in the east of their Republic where

Armenians once lived and thrived.