hg merz: Gedenkstätte Sachsenhausen „Station Z“ - best architects 07

hg merz

Gedenkstätte Sachsenhausen „Station Z“

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Photos

Udo Meinel

Description

Between 1936 and 1945, Sachsenhausen was used to train concentration camp commandants, SS soldiers, and to experiment on the concentration camp system. Located just outside Berlin, Sachsenhausen is an important place of remembrance. The concept behind the Sachsenhausen Memorial won the first prize at an international competition in 1998. It aims to make the harrowing reality of the camp tangible, and to illustrate its totalitarian geometry, without engulfing visitors in information, instead enabling them to arrive at their own conclusions. As such, it provides a fitting and dignified memorial that encourages intense reflection. The abstract shell that shrouds “Station Z” emphasizes the intentional, artificial emptiness of the site, amplifying the hopeless situation of the prisoners.