UEBERSCHRIEBEN (Transferred/ Overwritten) Memorial for the murdered European Jews Outline 1997 Preliminary remarks Our proposal UEBERSCHRIEBEN draws its impetus from the failure of the traditional art of memorials and the manifold problems deriving from the Berlin site for the memorial. Works of memorial art , that try to commemorate a historical person or event through impressive forms and shapes are themselves "dead": acknowledged, they are left behind obsolete. Traditional memorials moreover are doomed to fail when the events depicted are unfathomable to those who did not experience them first hand. Commemorating one nation's crimes against humanity is a historically unique challenge that requires new radical correspondingly uncomfortable solution. To achieve this goal, we propose to translate the aesthetic dimension into the realm of everyday life. Our concept as artists aims for a living form, that will succeed in preserving the memory of the persecution and destruction of the European Jews by providing an ever present reminder. In addition to the memorial, the proposal envisions the establishment of a charitable foundation.
The Memorial The Memorial for the murdered European Jews will be erected at a location in the center of Germany - on the Bundesautobahn A7, south of Kassel. The memorial is the kilometre no. 334 of the Autobahn, which will be paved on both sides with cobblestones for a length of one kilometre. At the beginning of the cobblestone section in the south as well as in the north a highway sign spanning all lanes will indicate MEMORIAL FOR THE MURDERED EUROPEAN JEWS. On the cobblestone section the speed of motor vehicles will be limited to 30 km/h. At the highway rest areas only a few kilometres south and north of the memorial displays will offer historical information on the Holocaust and the memorial project, and additional literature will be made available. 1
The Foundation The formerly designated memorial site south of the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin will be sold with the provise that a bronze plate be erected in a prominent place inscribed with the following text in several languages: "The Government of the Federal Republic of Germany, the Senate of Berlin and a circle of private supporters had plans for a Memorial for the murdered European Jews. After intense discussions they decided to follow a proposal to sell the site. In commemoration of the Jews who had been murdered by Germans and in the name of Germany, the profits were used to establish a foundation for the support of persecuted minorities. In place of the memorial at this site, the kilometre 334 of the Bundesautobahn A7 was paved with cobblestones and marked with signs to give pause to thousands every day." The constitution of the foundation, its aims, and annual budget will have to be subjects of public debate.
Commentary We are convinced that a truly enduring memorial to the Holocaust calls for subverting a center piece of the German social and economic infrastructure. The Autobahn is one of the few national symbols in the Federal Republic of Germany, dear to the hearts of many. Therefore, it is especially suited for a project of collective remembrance. Imposing a speed limit on the Autobahn impinges on a potent symbolism closely connected with recent German history as well as with the German citzens' collective sentiments and modern everyday-life. The Autobahn, which had become the quintessence of the German economical boom in the thirties and fifties, is an emblem of social continuity. Building the Autobahn is still acknowledged as one of Hitler's achievements. "The German Autobahn" today is a manifold symbol for traffic technology, the freedom of individual mobility, for virtues of perfection and reliability, which some would gladly claim to be intrinsic to the national character. At the same time it stands for smooth, automated functioning, reckless disregarding for others, and pure aggression - in short, a mentality that made the mass murder of the Jewish people possible. Our proposal is aimed at giving pause for reflection in the midst of the nation's economic and social intercourse and therefore it is a "refusal of an apparently sane national identity". (Salomon Korn) The memorial represents nothing and certainly not the destruction of the European Jews - the Holocaust cannot be depicted. Nobody will be able to avoid being confronted by this memorial, as would be possible with a static memorial, since the chosen part of the Autobahn cannot be bypassed. On the contrary, this memorial will not only be noticed, but also used by approximately 40 million people each year. Even though this obstacle extends the regular frame of time by only two or three minutes, this memorial effectively interrupts the normal course of society, causing it to reflect and become aware of historical context. The new context of the memorial does not aim at pathos to be memorized, instead it demands taking a step back and, therefore will continuously provoke both vehement reactions from individuals and collective debates. Given the importance of this memorial, slowing traffic on but one of 11.000 kilometres of the entire Autobahn network is a small price to pay for a living remembrance of the Holocaust. The memorial tests society's willingness to keep alive the memory of the persecution and destruction of the European Jews beyond alibi-like monuments. The memorial cannot be monopolized for political purposes. It will stay a stumbling block forever causing the one who just stumbled to ask: what is it that is so annoying? Is it the Holocaust or just this particular way of remembering it. Just as the cobblestone kilometre of the Autobahn is not limited to a representative gesture, neither is our proposal to transfer the proceeds from the sale of the prominent Berlin site to the foundation for the support and aid of persecuted minorities. The foundation will preserve the memory of the expulsion and the murder of the European Jews through the Germans while working to end the persecution of minorities and giving humanitarian aid worldwide. The capital stock will be more than 200 million marks. The annual discussion on how best to disburse capital dividends will raise the public's awareness of ideologically, politically, socially, religiously and ethnically motivated persecution. Cooperation with NGOs, such as Amnesty International, Ärzte ohne Grenzen (doctors without frontiers), and others, will be the central to the foundation's work. Munich, October 16, 1997
UEBERSCHRIEBEN (Transferred/ Overwritten) Memorial for the murdered European Jews Outline 1997 Preliminary remarks Our proposal UEBERSCHRIEBEN draws its impetus from the failure of the traditional art of memorials and the manifold problems deriving from the Berlin site for the memorial. Works of memorial art , that try to commemorate a historical person or event through impressive forms and shapes are themselves "dead": acknowledged, they are left behind obsolete. Traditional memorials moreover are doomed to fail when the events depicted are unfathomable to those who did not experience them first hand. Commemorating one nation's crimes against humanity is a historically unique challenge that requires new radical correspondingly uncomfortable solution. To achieve this goal, we propose to translate the aesthetic dimension into the realm of everyday life. Our concept as artists aims for a living form, that will succeed in preserving the memory of the persecution and destruction of the European Jews by providing an ever present reminder. In addition to the memorial, the proposal envisions the establishment of a charitable foundation.
The Memorial The Memorial for the murdered European Jews will be erected at a location in the center of Germany - on the Bundesautobahn A7, south of Kassel. The memorial is the kilometre no. 334 of the Autobahn, which will be paved on both sides with cobblestones for a length of one kilometre. At the beginning of the cobblestone section in the south as well as in the north a highway sign spanning all lanes will indicate MEMORIAL FOR THE MURDERED EUROPEAN JEWS. On the cobblestone section the speed of motor vehicles will be limited to 30 km/h. At the highway rest areas only a few kilometres south and north of the memorial displays will offer historical information on the Holocaust and the memorial project, and additional literature will be made available. 1
The Foundation The formerly designated memorial site south of the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin will be sold with the provise that a bronze plate be erected in a prominent place inscribed with the following text in several languages: "The Government of the Federal Republic of Germany, the Senate of Berlin and a circle of private supporters had plans for a Memorial for the murdered European Jews. After intense discussions they decided to follow a proposal to sell the site. In commemoration of the Jews who had been murdered by Germans and in the name of Germany, the profits were used to establish a foundation for the support of persecuted minorities. In place of the memorial at this site, the kilometre 334 of the Bundesautobahn A7 was paved with cobblestones and marked with signs to give pause to thousands every day." The constitution of the foundation, its aims, and annual budget will have to be subjects of public debate.
Commentary We are convinced that a truly enduring memorial to the Holocaust calls for subverting a center piece of the German social and economic infrastructure. The Autobahn is one of the few national symbols in the Federal Republic of Germany, dear to the hearts of many. Therefore, it is especially suited for a project of collective remembrance. Imposing a speed limit on the Autobahn impinges on a potent symbolism closely connected with recent German history as well as with the German citzens' collective sentiments and modern everyday-life. The Autobahn, which had become the quintessence of the German economical boom in the thirties and fifties, is an emblem of social continuity. Building the Autobahn is still acknowledged as one of Hitler's achievements. "The German Autobahn" today is a manifold symbol for traffic technology, the freedom of individual mobility, for virtues of perfection and reliability, which some would gladly claim to be intrinsic to the national character. At the same time it stands for smooth, automated functioning, reckless disregarding for others, and pure aggression - in short, a mentality that made the mass murder of the Jewish people possible. Our proposal is aimed at giving pause for reflection in the midst of the nation's economic and social intercourse and therefore it is a "refusal of an apparently sane national identity". (Salomon Korn) The memorial represents nothing and certainly not the destruction of the European Jews - the Holocaust cannot be depicted. Nobody will be able to avoid being confronted by this memorial, as would be possible with a static memorial, since the chosen part of the Autobahn cannot be bypassed. On the contrary, this memorial will not only be noticed, but also used by approximately 40 million people each year. Even though this obstacle extends the regular frame of time by only two or three minutes, this memorial effectively interrupts the normal course of society, causing it to reflect and become aware of historical context. The new context of the memorial does not aim at pathos to be memorized, instead it demands taking a step back and, therefore will continuously provoke both vehement reactions from individuals and collective debates. Given the importance of this memorial, slowing traffic on but one of 11.000 kilometres of the entire Autobahn network is a small price to pay for a living remembrance of the Holocaust. The memorial tests society's willingness to keep alive the memory of the persecution and destruction of the European Jews beyond alibi-like monuments. The memorial cannot be monopolized for political purposes. It will stay a stumbling block forever causing the one who just stumbled to ask: what is it that is so annoying? Is it the Holocaust or just this particular way of remembering it. Just as the cobblestone kilometre of the Autobahn is not limited to a representative gesture, neither is our proposal to transfer the proceeds from the sale of the prominent Berlin site to the foundation for the support and aid of persecuted minorities. The foundation will preserve the memory of the expulsion and the murder of the European Jews through the Germans while working to end the persecution of minorities and giving humanitarian aid worldwide. The capital stock will be more than 200 million marks. The annual discussion on how best to disburse capital dividends will raise the public's awareness of ideologically, politically, socially, religiously and ethnically motivated persecution. Cooperation with NGOs, such as Amnesty International, Ärzte ohne Grenzen (doctors without frontiers), and others, will be the central to the foundation's work. Munich, October 16, 1997