Throughout history, communities have built up memorials and monuments to remember and honor certain events. These memorials impact the surrounding community and how the public remembers that event in history.
For this term's blog, you will explore 1 monument and write a reflection answering questions about your monument and its impact on the community.
1. Go to: http://www2.facinghistory.org/campus/memorials.nsf/Home?OpenFrameSet
2. Within the 8 sections, there are several case studies - chose ONE case study/memorial
****EVERYONE MUST HAVE A DIFFERENCE MONUMENT****
3. Read the article and explore the other resources the module provides regarding your memorial
4. In your response be sure to include the following:
- background info
- the dilemma, if any, that surrounded the building of the memorial
- its interpretation
- its community impact
- how people view the event the memorial is honoring after looking at the monument
The monument I chose was the Columbine memorial located in Littleton, Colorado. Named after the Columbine High School this spontaneous monument was created after a total of fifteen people were killed on April 20,1999 caused by a shooting at the high school. A spontaneous memorial is the reaction of the community to a shooting or unplanned tragedy. Two boys Eric Harris, and Dylan Klebold came to school on the 20th armed with guns and began to shoot twelve of their classmates as well as one teacher. After taking the lives of thirteen others they both killed themselves. The next day at Clement Park right across from the school fifteen crosses were constructed including those of the killers in honor of those who died in the shooting the previous day. People went there to remember those who lost their lives as well as place many candles and flowers. The controversy however over this monument dealt with if the killers Eric and Dylan should still be remembered with crosses of their own. Many strongly disagreed with the two boys having their own crosses as they were the cause of the other deaths and therefore should not be given a part of this memorial. On the other hand the two boys are both dead and should be remembered and their families given somewhere to grieve. The following months after the shooting over 200,000 items were left at the memorial. This shows the immense amount of support for the families and victims of this terrible shooting. Also the students of Columbine school were provided with counseling, higher security at the school, as well as left with the burden of losing peers. Also students were left to finish their school year at a nearby school, so the damage of the shooting could be repaired. When people visit the memorial they view the event as a horrible thing that unfortunately took place. The lives lost are remembered and the people visiting the memorial are most likely sad and mourning the shooting. The interpretation of the monument for me is taken literal. This is because I feel the meaning of the 15 crosses is really representing each person killed and the sacrifices of the individuals. Overall the killing of the 15 individuals in Littleton, Colorado was a horrible thing and will be always remembered by the memorial.
ReplyDeleteThe monument I chose was the Genocide memorial in Rwanda. This monument is categorized as a spontaneous monument which represents the genocide that took place in Rwanda in 1994. It is located on the grounds of a church where hundreds of people were killed on the spot by shootings or being hacked with machetes. It is said that roving gangs and Hutu militia had murdered 800,000 total Tutsis and Hutu moderates. There has always been a rivalry between the two cultures but after so many years of hatred it exploded into a genocide. Like the Holocaust the Hutu's were essentially trying to wipe out all the Tutsis from the country. This shrine represents all those who were violently killed during the Rwanda genocide. The common dilemma about this memorial is should this be classified as a spontaneous memorial, this memorial is technically a crime scene with all of the murder victims skulls aligned. The interpretation of this memorial is dark and portrays the tragedies that occurred throughout the 100 days of the genocide. Many believe the memorials impact is to draw the perpetrators into a mourning state to those who have died. In addition, it is important to note that the United States chose to stay out of the genocide occurring in Rwanda after discovering what was happening. When people view this memorial they view this event as a tragedy and a reminder of those who had died and what happened during the year of 1994. Lastly, the Tutsis were able to gain some government control after the genocide had ended and had to face many of the problems resulting from it.
ReplyDeleteThe monument I chose was the Fredrick Douglas Memorial in Maryland. This memorial was dedicated to a slave that became free after many of years. He got married to a free African American slave. This interpretation is happy and freedom because it is dedicated to a slave who got free. This helps the community by giving freedom to the place and shows that even through many hard times, you can find a way out of it. I think that once you see this memorial, you can get a new out look on life. Also, you can see that people can get through hard times and through a thing like slavery.
ReplyDeleteI chose the Warsaw Ghetto Memorial, located in Warsaw, Poland. The Warsaw Ghetto was the largest ghetto in Europe during the Holocaust, with over 100,000 dying in that ghetto alone. The memorial (a marble carving) was made by Nathan Rapoport, a Jewish sculptor who escaped to the Soviet Union when the Nazis took over Poland. The interpretation I get out of this memorial is further remembering the Holocaust, but in a deeper sense. This memorial shows that the killing didn't just go on in concentration camps. It happened everywhere the Nazis went, but was most recognized in the concentration camps. Its community impact is to remind the community of the horrors that happened, the respect due to those who were affected by it, and the message that this must never be allowed to happen again. After seeing this memorial, people will probably see this event in a new light. Ghettos are often viewed as the containment places before transportation to camps, but the Warsaw Ghetto disproves that. Over 100,000 people died there, which is minimal compared eleven million, but still an astronomical amount. Therefore, this monument reminds that while killing was highest in camps, those dead in ghettos and other places should be remembered at the same level as those in camps.
ReplyDeleteI chose the Flag memorials in New York city after the 911. People of the city hung flags and pictures of the flag and words "united we stand" through out the city after 911 where over 4,000 people went missing and thousands were killed. I thought this type of memorial was interesting because it was not located in one spot, this memorial was located all around New York city after 911 stuck. People put flags everywhere around the city, their houses, their work, any where you could think of. Placing flags was a symbol to us people resembling the phrase "United We Stand". Our country was targeted by a outside terrorist and the missing people in New York City after that day went up to over 4,000 people and the symbolism of the flag was stating how we cannot be broken was portrayed through this monument around the entire city. The entire community was impacted by this because all the people were hanging up the flags. Everyone world wide was effected by the tragic event of 911 especially the community of New York city.Looking at the thousands of flags hung up through out the city and seeing the symbol of bravery and power of our nation people view the event of 911 and this monument is looked as a test of our country's unity, because even though we were targeted by a terrorist and it broke families and people suffered because of their loses and destruction our union still stands strong and nothing can break it and that is also what the flag symbolizes. Relating my monument to Elizabeth's it is very different. The memorial she learned about was dedicated to one specific person while this 911 monument was dedicated to all the people of the world effected by this event and dedicated to our Union and the people who look down on it.
ReplyDeleteRelating my monument the Columbine memorial to Shane's Genocide memorial, the two are very similar. To start they are both spontaneous monuments formed in the moment in response to something terrible that happened. In both cases people were killed, and to show appreciation for those people the public made a memorial cite where people could reflect their lives. The two memorials are different though as the Columbine dealt with a lot less people than the Genocide memorial. Also the Genocide memorial dealt with a targeted group of people, Tutsis, as the Hutu and Tutsis had a rivalry. On the other hand in the Columbine shooting case the two boys who killed 13 people chose random classmates, that were in the library at the time, and did not target a certain person.
ReplyDeleteThe monument that I chose was the Oklahoma City bombing memorial. On April 19th, 1995, a fertilizer bomb was set off in front of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal building in Oklahoma City. The explosion killed 168 people, including 15 children, and up until 9/11, it was the most destructive terrorist act on the United States. The memorial consists of symbolic chairs spread out around the site, and a chain link fence that was originally used to keep out the public from the site was transformed into a part of the memorial. It also has a reflecting pool, but the key part of this monument is the Gates of Time, which on the East show 9:01, the minute before the explosion, and on the west, 9:03, the minute after the explosion. This is not a spontaneous monument like Shane and Baylee's examples, but rather a monument due to conflict because of the attack. My symbolic interpretation of this monument is that each of the chairs represent somebody that died in the bombing, and that this shows that similar to how people are able to rest in chairs, the victims are now at rest. For the Gates of Time, I think that the symbolism is that on the east, the minute before represents the innocence before the bombing, the innocence of the city and its members. After, however, the gate shows how that innocence was lost after passing through a crucial time in American History, which is why I think that the designers chose a gate to symbolize the passing of innocence. This monument shows the people of the United States the tragedy of the first big terrorist attack on the United States. Before reading this article, I did not really know much about this bombing, and I guess that 9/11 overshadows this event, but I think that it needs to be seen. People need to know that there were terrorist attacks before 9/11, and that some of them were big, but later forgotten. I like how this monument explains this tragic and somewhat forgotten event in American History.
ReplyDeleteThe monument I chose was the Monument to the Alleviation of Pain which is located in the Boston Public Garden. It was erected in 1868. This monument was created to remember the discovery that the inhaling of ether causes insensibility to pain. This was taken place at Massachusetts General Hospital and it was the first successful use of ether. It is said that people were using it before it was known to the public, and it was used in surgery by doctor Crawford Long. The monument was created by Thomas Lee and it is the only monument not made directly for a person or a group of people. This monument was to remember the discovery of ether. This monument mentioned the discovery but not the person who discovered it.
ReplyDeleteMany people especially the religious ones did not agree with this because they thought that not having to endure the pain was going against God's ways.
Some thought that this was just something revealed not discovered, called "progress" but other's thought that this was a discovery made from scientific method, like invention.
The monument did not tell which was right or wrong, it showed though not a doctor giving the ether as the statue but rather a Good Samaritan.
Rather than showing a great thing this monument confused people on whether is was a invention or something religious.
My monument is different from Baylee's monument because her memorial is about a school shooting and mine is about a medication or pain killer that was used in hospitals. Mine was to remember a great time and her's was to remember a tragic event at a school.
The monument I chose was the Memorial at Treblinka. It is a Holocaust memorial in Poland where the Treblinka Camp once stood. Treblinka was a work and a death camp where 850,000 Jewish people were gassed and burned. It was the most deadly of the camps during the Holocaust. The memorial was started in the late 1650’s and it was completed in 1964. The sculptor that worked on the monument was Franciszek Duszenko and the architect was Adam Haupt. The set up of the memorial is a field of 17,000 stones which are meant to portray a cemetery. 700 of the stones have the names of Jewish villages. In the center of the memorial is a 26 foot stone with a menorah carved into it. “Never again” is written in Yiddish, Polish, English, German, and French at the bottom of the stone. When people visit this monument, they feel very humbled and very emotional because they are in the location where 850,000 innocent people lost their lives because of their religion. Holocaust memorials are always very moving. Like Andrew said, the Holocaust memorials always make us think about the horrors of the Holocaust and what all of these people went through. Hopefully, the Holocaust memorials will remind people of the terrible things that happened to the Jewish people and an event like that will never occur again.
ReplyDeleteThe memorial I chose was The Harburg Monument Against Fascism, which is located in Hamburg, Germany. This monument was built in 1983 due to a design competition the local council was holding for a monument that would stand against fascism. The winning design was by Jochen Gerz and Esther Shalev- Gerz. The monument itself is twelve meters high, and made of steel. The German artists decided to construct it out of this material, purposely so that it was a smooth surface on which would be written on. An invitation and a stylus were placed by the monument so that anyone could write on it. It was intentionally built in an unattractive area so that the public could write all over it and express their thoughts. The builders felt that they did not need it to be placed behind a fence on a pedestal for it to be “beautiful”, they just needed it to stand for remembrance. The Harburg Monument Against Fascism was built to be lowered to the ground, and eventually only a small portion of it able to be viewed through a window in a staircase. This monument is an example of a “counter-monument”. These monuments are not made to be visually appealing, but are meant to keep viewers remembering the event behind it, which is the “true beauty” of these works of art. Monuments are made to help people remember the event in which it symbolizes, although this is not always the case. There is an argument in which implies that monuments can “disconnect” us from history and these past events. Instead of the monument helping people remember the past, they feel almost as if the monument takes over the responsibility of remembering them. The community reacted to this monument because people walking by would write and express their feelings on fascism and also pledge against it. This provoked neo-Nazi responses and also graffiti. Anti-fascists were also upset and mad how the monument did not honor the victims whom had lost their lives in the Holocaust. After all, the artists behind this monument built it to strive for their goal of people fighting against fascism. Kelly chose a Holocaust monument called the Memorial at Treblinka. According to the article I read on counter-monuments, they are meant to help keep people remembering the event. In my case it was the Holocaust, and the monument was against Fascism. The monument Kelly chose was a Holocaust Memorial and serves a different purpose. The Memorial at Treblinka was actually built where the death camp once stood. People cannot forget and stop thinking about how the death camp must have been like when viewing this monument, because it was actually where they are standing. Although our monuments help people remember these past events differently, they both are there for the same purpose, and that is: To never forget.
ReplyDeleteI chose The Voortrekker Monument located in Pretoria, South Africa. It was built in the 1930’s, but was in honor of the Great Trek of the 1830’s. The Great Trek was a migration of Dutch and German farmers away from British Rule. The Trek was triggered by the English colonial authority. When the Emancipation Proclamation was signed in 1833, the farmers, who would be later known as Voortrekkers, used the black slave labor on their farms, and the British used this as an excuse to end slave labor. I found that after fighting a bloody battle against the Zulus, which the Voortrekkers won using gunpowder and steel against wooden spears, believing their victory a sign from God, that they built a monument and a city above on the hill. In my opinion, believing that their victory a sign from God was slightly idiotic, but this is their religion, and although they did kill 3000 men with not losing a single one of their 464, the odds were against the Zulus to begin with.
ReplyDeleteThe monument I chose was The Burghers of Calais statue. This statue is a remembrance monument for 6 brave citizens that were willing to risk their own lives to save their king who was being held at siege for 11 months. These citizens went to the place their king was being held with the keys to the city and nooses around their necks saying that they would give their own lives up if they released the king. But on their way there, they were stopped by the king’s pregnant wife and were told she would not allow the deaths for it would create a bad environment for her unborn child. And so, the 6 burghers returned back to the city and were recognized as heroes for their civic devotion to their king. The sculptor; Rodin had wished to capture the statue of the people at the point they realized they were facing death. The statue shows a person, upset with their head in their hands. This monument may be interpreted that the 6 burghers were psychotic and not as patriotic and civil as they were; portrayed in real life. The city requested that the monument be put at eye-level in front of the town hall for everyone to see but this did not happen. Instead they put it on a pedestal making it less noticeable. Not until 1920 was the monument was put back at its agreed location at eye-level. This must have pleased the community and 6 burghers that they citizens had finally gotten the recognition they deserved. After looking at this monument I feel this event would be viewed as an act of heroism yet also a psychotic action. I feel people would view this statue this way because the man has his head in his hands and seems like he is either sad or crazy. Yet this was also an event that is remembered as being patriotic and heroic. Relating to Tatyana and Andrew I feel our monuments are very similar because they are dedicated to a group of people rather than one individual person; although this memorial reaches out to only 6 people and Andrews to 100,000.
ReplyDeleteThe memorial that I chose was the Vietnam Memorial. There are 3 parts to this memorial, the wall, the statue of the three soldiers, and the woman’s memorial. The wall was designed by a college girl from Yale named Maya Lin, the statue of the soldiers was designed by Frederick Hart, and the women’s memorial was designed by Glenna Goodacre. There were ideas that the wall should not be constructed because it did not represent all of the soldiers who had fought in the war and just the ones who had died or gone missing. That is why the statue of the three soldiers was created and put near the wall and the woman’s memorial.
ReplyDeleteThe memorial that I chose was the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, which is located in Washington D.C., Virginia. This memorial was built between the years of 1989 and 1993 and was constructed in order to honor those who were killed during and in the terrible and frightening events during the actual Holocaust. On October 16th, 1985, ground breaking ceremonies took place on location of where the museum was going to be built, and two cans that held soil and ashes from various concentration camps were buried on this specific site. On April 23rd, 1993, the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum was dedicated and many dedication ceremonies took place on location of the newly built memorial and just a few days later, on April 26th, the museum was opened to the public and was visited by millions in just a few years. This memorial is a place where people are able to mourn the lives of those that were affected and went through these terrible events in a never forgetting moment in history. The people in charge of this memorial knew that it would "make memory manifest." This memorial was built to interest people and visitors with the history of the Holocaust and learn more about it. The managers of this memorial wanted the visitors to see it as a main, concrete, and historical event that will always be one of the most brutal and overwhelming events ever in history and will always honor those who were affected by these moments in history. There was no greatly known dilemma that surrounded this memorial because everyone, those who were affected or those who were not affected, knew and understood why this museum was built and had no questions revolving around it. They knew that it was meant to mourn the lives of those who were killed. To those in America who did not experience the Holocaust and the Jewish families who did or did not experience it, their interpretation of the memorial was that it was a very sympathetic and calm place where people could go to celebrate/mourn the lives of people that they may have known, or celebrate/mourn the deaths of those who they may not have known. Overall, everyone saw and sees this place very similarly, a respectful and comforting place. This memorial impacted the community greatly, since it was a large building being built in the middle of the city that would help pay respects to those who were killed in the Holocaust, so everyone appreciated it greatly and thought that it was a significant and symbolic place. My memorial that I chose is similar to Andrew's memorial because it has to do with the Holocaust, and it is dedicated and used in order to pay respects to those who were killed in concentration camps during this time in history. Also, these memorials help those to remember this specific event in history, to guarantee that it is never forgotten, and to make sure that another event like this never happens again.
ReplyDeleteThe monument I chose was The Aschrott- Brunnen Monument that was built in front of the city hall in Kassel, a German town. In 1908, a Jewish businessman by the name of Sigmund Aschrott created the original fountain. However, in 1939 when Nazis became aware that the fountain was created by a Jew, they immediately had it destroyed, leaving only the base behind. Shortly after, over 3,000 Jews from the town of Kassel were transported out and murdered by Nazis. In order to memorialize the founders and citizens that were murdered by the Nazis, the Society for the Rescue of Historical Monuments decided to build yet another fountain in the old ones place in 1980. The creator of the new fountain, Horst Hoheisel, decided to rebuild the original fountain but instead bury it upside down in the original location of the first fountain. Glass was placed over the hole and a metal grate outlined the shape of the fountain, so that people were able to walk over the fountain and experience its emptiness just by looking down. The goal of the memorial was to recreate the original fountain but also have it signify the empty, painful history that the town of Kassel could no longer remember. Similar to Andrew’s, the point of the memorial was to remind the town of Kassel of the terrible events that occurred many years ago. The community, who had forgotten the history of what happened in the past, is now reminded every time they step over the fountain.
ReplyDeleteI decided to comment on the Robert Gould Shaw Memorial. It was erected on May 31, 1897 on Boston Common, directly opposite of the Massachusetts statehouse. As the name suggests, the bronze relief sculpture was built in honor and memory of Robert Gould Shaw. He was an African American who served as an American officer in the Civil War. He commanded the colored 54th regiment Massachusetts Infantry Regiment, which entered the war in 1863. However, he was leading his regiment into a battle against Confederate troops in Charleston, South Carolina when the unit hesitated because of strong return fire. They were just outside the fort when Shaw yelled for his troops to continue. Moments after, he was shot through the heart and died instantly. It was July 18, 1863.
ReplyDeleteThe memorial was constructed in his memory 23 years after his death. It shows Shaw on his horse among his soldiers and drummer boy. It is interpreted as a higher-ranked man going into battle with his troops, acting as if he was no better than they. It was like this because they were all one; they were all outcasts. The memorial is somewhat similar to Alexa's - the Monument to the Alleviation of Pain - because they are both located in Boston, MA. Also, they are both Traditional Monuments.
The monument I chose was The Freedem's Memorial to Lincoln. This monument was built shortly after President Lincoln assassination. In honor of Lincoln issuing the Emancipation Proclamation, a woman named Charlotte Scott, an ex-slave, started a fund-raising campaign to build the statue. The 180,000 ex-slaves serving in the war were the ones who gave most of the contributions. The monument was designed by Thomas Ball, who was from Boston. The statue was cast in Germany, but later brought to Washington D.C. once it was finished in 1876. In the monument, Lincoln is holding the Emancipation Proclamation, and his right hand is reaching out to a kneeling slave who is removing his shackles. It is interpreted as Lincoln freeing the slaves. The statue received much praise. The statue impacted many people. It especially impacted the ex-slaves who often thought what would have happened if Lincoln had not been President. The monument is a reminder of our country's history. The Freedmen's Monument to Lincoln is similar to Anna's memorial because they are both located in Washington D.C, however they are very different because the two memorials remember different times in history.
ReplyDeleteThe monument that I chose was the Freedmen's monument to Lincoln. The monument was designed by Thomas Ball and was shipped to Washington in 1876. This monument was built to honor Lincoln for issuing the Emancipation Proclamation and freeing the slaves. The statue has Lincoln holding the Emancipation Proclamation in his left hand, and the other hand is reaching out over a kneeling slave that is removing his shackles. Because of Lincoln, he is now free. The slave is supposed to be modeled after Archer Alexander, who was the last slave captured under the fugitive slave act. When the monument was unveiled for Lincoln, Frederick Douglas gave a public speech, which praised Lincoln, and explained Lincoln's willingness to free all of the slaves at the start of the war. The speech also touched upon the bad parts of Lincoln's record, and cleared them up through this monument. The state of Washington accepted this monument as a gift from the slaves and other colored citizens of the United States, to honor Lincoln for freeing them. The interpretation of this memorial is justice and freedom because it is honoring someone who set many people free, and it shows that without Lincoln, that may not have happened. When people visit this memorial, they thank Lincoln for saving so many people, and issuing the Emancipation Proclamation. People are grateful for Lincoln when they visit the monument. My monument is different than Kelly's monument because hers is symbolizing all of the people that died at Treblinka. When you visit that memorial, you mourn over the loss of many people, but when you visit the memorial for Lincoln, you are grateful that he was able to issue the Emancipation Proclamation and free so many slaves. Something that is similar between the two monuments is that the people of Treblinka were slaves, and my monument has to do with slaves. The difference is, my monument symbolizes the slaves that were set free.
ReplyDeleteI chose the memorial, "For Those Who Cannot See". This memorial was made by a high school student in Washington D.C. It is a bored and has broken glass placed on it. It is very simple but has a lot of meaning. This kid explained that he made it for those who have suffered and other people cannot see that. He explains that people cannot see the "naked truth" and "reality" so he made this monument to show that you have to use your eyes and see and help those in need. It doesn't really say what people think of this memorial but I would think that people would appreciate it greatly. Many parents have children that get bullied and have struggles to fit in and many students do not see this kid struggling so it can lead to bad things. This makes people look at things from a different veiw. Now maybe if a kid was getting bullied, instead of making fun of him too, kids may look deeper and see that he might just need a friend, that something might be happening at home. This memorial shows people to look at reality and truth and not to hide things from everyone else. Like the colombine memorial, this memorial has to do with schools, bullying, and honoring those who have struggled or taken their lives. It honors them in a way that people won't ever make the mistakes again.
ReplyDeleteThe memorial that I chose was the national Holocaust memorial, which is located in Berlin, Germany. The idea to construct such a memorial was first brought about by the University of Massachusetts’s very own James Young, who in 1999 proposes to the German Parliament that such a memorial should be constructed not only to memorialize those who died in the Holocaust, but also to remind future generations never to violate human rights again. While in the processes of construction the memorial there were several conflicts, the first conflict was with the design. What would the design of the monument look like? In order to solve this problem the decided to hold a contest where people nation wide would enter their design. The first design chosen was one large tombstone that had every name of the six million victims in the Holocaust, however this design was later dismissed. The second design chosen was one that had 2700 concrete slabs and on them would be the names of the victims, there was also much conservers over this design because, of the thought that the slabs could be interoperated as tombstones however the design was later passed. Later on another problem arose that involved the companies involved in the construction of the monument. The company, Degussa was linked to have been supplying the gas that was reasonable for kill many Jews. However, that problem was later let go because they thought of the company helping to rebuild as making amends for what they had done. The memorial was interoperated in a way that has never been done before and could never be done again. The way that the slabs as set up in a way that gives you the sense that you are moving thought waves, by doing this they are making the monument one of a kind. One of the base ideas in build the monument was to symbolize that the slit county had come together, and it did just that it make the people of Germany put away the past and move on with the future. The memorial its self was well reserved by the people however, the location of the memorial was not so well reserved there were many controversies over wither or not Berlin was the right place to have the monument considering it was the capital of the country that single handle killed six million people. However, other then that the memorial was very well received by the people.
ReplyDeleteI have chosen to reflect on baylee’s post of the Columbine memorial. The Columbine memorial and the Holocaust memorial are similar and different in many ways concerning the impact they had. The were similar in the way that they both commemorated thoughts who had passed away under horrific circumstances. However, they are different in the way that the Holocaust was on a much larger scale and was constructed over 50 years after the people had died. Wither as for the people who died in the Columbine shooting had a memorial very soon after they had passed and it was on a much smaller scale of only 15 who’s lives were loosed verses the six million that were lost in the Holocaust.
The memorial I chose is a Holocaust memorial in Berlin designed by a man named Elsenman in 1999. In this year, there was a contest for a person to design the best Holocaust memorial in Germany. The goal was for the memorial to honor the murdered victims, help people remember the tragedies, prevent anything similar from happening again, show equality among people, defend Germany's democratic constitutional state, and be a place for remembrance. As just the idea of having a memorial in Germany for the Holocaust was controversial (as it is basically building a tribute to their own crimes and placing blame on themselves), the memorial that won was also controversial. The first memorial idea to win the competition, which was discarded and never built, was a giant tomb stone with the names of all the victims to the Holocaust on it. The memorial that was actually built is 2700 concrete slabs on an undulating solve. Some people did not like this idea because they thought it too much resembled a field of tombstones. This memorial makes people feel as though they are moving through a series of waves. It also allows them to honor and pay their respects towards those who lost their lives and suffered during the Holocaust. This memorial is interpreted as a nontraditional memorial for an enormous horror, the Holocaust. It adds a new definition to the word memory. It is also almost a way of Germany taking responsibility for their actions. After looking at the monument, people feel almost overwhelmed by the enormity of the Holocaust and want to, at all costs, avoid such horrors reoccurring. When my memorial is compared to Baylee's Columbine memorial, the circumstances are completely different, but the message is quite similar. In both cases, there was a murder of one group of people by another group of people. Also, as there were many crosses in Baylee's memorial to represent the many lives that were lost, my memorial has many concrete slabs to represent the many lives that were lost during the Holocaust. Baylee's memorial, however, is on a much smaller scale from mine and is a spontaneous memorial while mine is not.
ReplyDeleteI choose to reflect on the article called District Six: "The Home We Live In". District Six is in Cape Town, South Africa, and on February 11, 1966, white people took over. They removed about 60,000 colored people, forcing them to leave behind their homes. Before this declaration that District Six would be "white group area", there were many different types of people living there. There were Africans, Europeans, Jews, Indians, Russians, Chinese, Australians, British, Khoi, and even some slaves. The diversity of the area is believed to be the reason for the whites taking over. They did not like the way that such a "mixed" group of people was able to get along. In what was is District Six a memorial? It is basically a place that a lot of people like to remember. District Six lies heavy in the hearts of its former residents. Many still see it as being their home. Even some people who have spent the majority of their lives away from District Six think of it as their homes because of the horrible way that they were forced to leave. It was a beautiful place that was destroyed by society. People do not like the fact that they had to leave their homes behind for no reason at all, and they miss living in District Six. This place will be remembered by all that once lived there for the rest of their lives. My memorial is similar to Anna's memorial because they are both places that help people remember tragic events in history. Also, in both events, people were removed from their homes because a different group of people (with different race or religion) took them out. It is different, however, from Anna's memorial because hers was built to remember the Holocaust, an event, but mine is just the place where the event occurred. People think about the event when they think about or see District Six (thus making it a memorial), but nothing was actually built to remember the removal of the colored people from District Six. (This reflection is to make up for the fact that I accidentally reflected on the same memorial as Alex.)
ReplyDeleteThe monument that I chose was the Warsaw Ghetto memorial. It memorializes the largest ghetto established under the Nazis. During World War 2 after the invasion of Poland, the Germans set up the ghetto to contain 400,000 Jews of Warsaw. 350,000 died of starvation and executions. The last 50,000 knowing their fate resisted their German captors. They fought knowing that they could not win. Eventually the resistance was quelled and the ghetto was burned. The memorial was built by Nathan Rapoport. He was a Jewish sculptor that escaped from Poland to the Soviet Union. After the war, he was commissioned by the Soviets to build a memorial to honor the victims of the Warsaw Ghetto. The monument is interpreted as a remembrance of those who were killed by the Nazis and an honor to those who fought and died trying to regain their freedom. The monument is there so that the current inhabitants of Warsaw and the world never forget the atrocities and sacrifice that occurred there. After viewing the memorial, people are supposed to remember everyone that died fighting for freedom and everyone that died because of Nazi atrocities. The Warsaw ghetto memorial is similar to Sean's memorial of the bombing of Oklahoma City because it is remembering the death of innocent life.
ReplyDeleteThe memorial that I chose was the Warsaw Ghetto memorial. This memorial memorializes the Warsaw ghetto that was established after the nazis occupied Poland in 1939. This ghetto was the home to 400,000 Jews, of which 250,000 were transported a few years later to the ghetto of Treblinka, all of which were murdered. Once the nazis went to transport the rest, the jews and other prisoners faught back, and surprised the nazis with this resistance. The prisoners faught for about a month and a half before losing the battle. This memorial honers all of the people who lost their lives in this ghetto and during the whole Holocaust. but it also honers those who faught back and almost won.
ReplyDeleteThe memorial I chose was the Memorial at Treblinka, which is located in Poland. This memorial is on the site of where the concentration camp Treblinka once was. People started wanting to memorialize Treblinka during the 1950's, but it did not actually begin to be designed until February of 1960 and was not completed and dedicated until 1964. During this time, the Warsaw Regional Counsel chose sculptor Franciszek Duszenko and architect Adam Haupt's design for the Treblinka II memorial. Duszenko and Haupt's design included a field of 17,000 jagged stones to symbolize a cemetery. Seven hundred (700) of these stones would be engraved with names of Jewish towns and communities in Poland that were destroyed during the time of the Holocaust. There is, however, one stone in the field that is dedicated to a specific person by the name of Janusz Korczak. This stone was added in 1978 and is the only stone in the memorial that is dedicated to a single person. Also, the creators wanted the field to be surrounded by trees and have a large stone pillar in the center of the stones with the words "Never again" carved into it in several languages such as English, Russian, Polish, Yiddish, French, and German. People say that this memorial is the most incredible Holocaust memorial ever created because it is on the site where 850,000 people died in gas chambers during the Holocaust. This memorial does a good job of helping us to remember the Holocaust because it shows us just how many towns were destroyed by the Nazis. The Treblinka Memorial can be easily related to the Holocaust Memorial Museum that Alex Schley talked about because it uses names of towns and people to portray just how many lives were lost all because of their religion. It also helps to show the emotional effect that the Holocaust had on the world and both remind us that nothing like this should ever happen again in the future.
ReplyDeleteI chose the Burghers of Calais monument in Calais, France. In 1347 during the hundred's year war King Edward III of England was holding the town under seize for 11 months. The town was running out of food and water so 6 men stepped forward to turn themselves into the King in return for freedom for Calais. The king agreed, as long as the men wore plain clothing, a noose around their neck, and brought the key to the town. The men and all the citizens believed they were walking to their deaths. Edward did plan to kill them, but his pregnant wife Philippa convinced him otherwise, saying it would be bad for the baby. The burghers came back unscathed and were forever portrayed as heroes.
ReplyDeleteAlthough this happened in the 14th century, it was not until 1885 that the town called upon Rodin to build a monument to be placed in town hall. The monument portrayed the 6 men looking desperate and ready to face death. When the town received the finished piece they instead placed it on a pedestal so less people could see it. They were not pleased with the way he showed the men that they associated with patriotism and bravery. Eventually it was moved to a more visible location, in front of town hall at eye level.
Just like part of the Vietnam Memorial that Kyle P wrote about, the monument is actual people. Both monuments also received some controversy in the beginning and represent bravery and patriotism.
I chose the "Reflecting Absence" memorial which is a part of the World Trade Center memorial. Starting the night after the attacks on September 11, people were talking about a memorial. Many people were angered by this and thought that it was much too soon. They pointed out that it was 60 years after Lincoln's assasination that a monument was put up, but others wanted to remember those they lost now and they wanted something up quickly. In December of 2003, it was announced that submissions would be taken for ideas of what the memorial should look like. Over 13,000 people from 63 different nations signed up to submit their ideas for the memorial. The Lower Manhattan Development Corporation (LMDC) ended up receiving 5,201 submissions and they said that it showed the faith in humanity across nations. The "Reflecting absence" memorial won, but the LMDC made it clear that this monument was only one step in the building of the World Trade Center memorial.
ReplyDeleteThe memorial is made up of two large voids which contain recessed pools. The two pools and ramps that are around them represent the footprints of the twin towers. A waterfall that surrounds the two squares feeds the pools and the open voids are a remembrance of the the absence of the towers. People walk down the ramps and are met with a thin curtain of water that meets an enormous pool and surrounding the pool are the names of those who lost their lives in the attacks. The designers said that the names are arranged in no particular order because they thought it would cause grief to the families who suffered if the names had some special meaning behind them. There are places where people can put candles and artifacts for the loved ones they lost.
September 11 was one of the most tragic days in New York's as well as America's history. Thousands of lives were lost and it is important that they are remembered properly. I think that the design team did a great job in reflecting this horrific event, and They may continue to add onto the memorial or they may leave it as is but either way it is a beautiful memorial and it gives those who lost someone comfort to know that others have a place to remember them as well.
I think that this memorial is similar to Sean Gilroy's Oklahoma City Bombing memorial. Both events that occurred were very tragic and many people lost loved ones in both of the attacks. The September 11 and Oklahoma City events were attacks that occurred and destroyed some beautiful things in the world. Even though the September 11 attack was on a larger scale, both events should be remembered equally because innocent civilians lost their lives in an attack that should not have happened. Both monuments were created to remind people of the tragedy that occurred and it gave them a place to go and remember those who were lost.
I chose the "Reflecting Absence": Creating the WTC Memorial article that is about the creation of the World Trade Center Monument. After the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center, people wanted a monument to memorialize the event. The article conveys the problems that architects, New Yorkers, and all citizens of the United States faced about how the monument should be built. The article goes over the process through which designs were submitted, criticized, and chosen by U.S. citizens. Though there were thousands of submissions, eventually everyone came to the decision to make Michael Arad's "Reflecting Absence" as the memorial design. Some dilemmas that the architects had was what the memorial should convey, who the monument would be honoring, how the monument would reflect the horrors of 9/11, and much more. Many of these dilemmas were solved through public voting, though many of the the dilemmas were tough to choose on.
ReplyDeleteThe interpretation of "Reflecting Absence" is that the absence of the World Trade Center made that part of the city feel empty. It also represents the absence of those that were lost during the attack, and thus remembering them through the plaques in the monument. The impact on the community is that even though the monument is simplistic, it has a strong message that where the World Trade Center was will always be empty. By looking at this monument people can reflect on the emptiness of the site. They will view this hole in the city as a hole that is now in society by the heavy loss of those that died during 9/11.
I chose the Satellite Academy Quilt memorial. A class that was studying the Holocaust went on a field trip to the Holocaust Museum in Washington DC. When you walk into the Museum you get a passport with the name, bibliography, and picture of a Holocaust victim. This class decided to keep those passports and do something with them. They all made a piece of the quilt remembering the victim on their passport. They also had a Holocaust survivor talk to them before the DC trip and decided to include her parents in the quilt and show her. This memorial was simple, but came from the heart. It was made by students honoring and remembering these victims for who they were. Each square was unique just like the victims. It brought the class together while making the quilt. It made the Holocaust survivor that visited them cry because she was so thankful that the stories her and other survivors are telling really are making a difference in the community today.
ReplyDeleteThe memorial I chose to write about is a memorial about the Columbine shooting that happened about thirteen years ago in Littleton, Colorado. It all started in the morning when Eric Harris and Derek Klebold, who came into the school weapons drawn and running around the school shooting at anyone who would cross their path. They had set booby traps and bombs all over the school to make sure people would suffer. When the SWAT team finally arrived the two boys had taken the lives of twelve peers and one teacher, along with themselves. The next day a man by the name of Greg Zanis, a carpenter from Chicago built fifteen crosses for each of the victims located in Clement Park across from Columbine high school. Two crosses were also made for Eric Harris and Derek Klebold but were taken down a few days later by one of the victim’s families. Over the next few months an enormous amount of support was show by everyone in the town when they all paid their respects for each of the students and teacher. The community was brought together after this horrifying experience. When the police did a later investigation it showed that Eric Harris had not been mentally stable and wrote in his diary about wanting to be like Hitler and kill everyone. The students did not return to Columbine that year, instead they finished the year of school out at a nearby one. This memorial really left an impact on me because it shows how a life can be taken away without notice. Each one of those crosses symbolizes a loss in someone life and it touches so many to know that it could happen to anyone.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading about other monuments I see that mine and Sara’s are a lot alike but also different. Just like the Columbine memorial, the The Aschrott- Brunnen Monument was built for people to reflect on the killing of loved ones. Ours are not alike in the fact that The Aschrott- Brunnen Monument was rebuilt because the first one was destroyed by the Nazis.
The memorial I chose to write about is the District Six Museum. District Six is in Cape Town, in South Africa. In 1950, the Group Areas Act was passed. This act stated that people could only live within others of their racial group. This resulted in entire neighborhoods being destroyed and white neighborhoods being built in their place. However, development became impossible in District Six because of the continuous protests. In 1988, District Six passed a resolution to build a District Six Museum. The exhibition was only supposed to be open for a few days, but so many people came that it became the District Six Museum. The District Six Museum has been open for nearly ten years. The museum was marked as an important site that represented the people and the interests of District Six. Many former residents have moved back into their former neighborhoods in District Six.
ReplyDeleteJosef Stalin was a powerful and popular communist leader during the mid 1900's. As a display of his immense influence throughout the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, several statues of Stalin were erected throughout the surrounding areas. Most famous was that in Budapest, Hungary. The twenty-five meter high bronze statue was a gift from the Hungarian people on his seventieth birthday in December 1951. It portrays Stalin speaking to a crowd, bold and rigid, with his right had over his chest. When the decline of communism started, Hungarian revolutionaries took to the statue with blow torches and ropes. The shoes of the statue remained on the pedestal while the plaque and the body of the statue were pulled down and inscribed with insulting remarks. During the time of communism, people viewed these statues of Stalin with admiration to the great control he had over Easter Europe. When communism died, these statues became an embarrassment to the communities in which they were built. People used to look up to the statues and use Stalin's image as a beacon of hope and determination. Recently, there had been controversy over whether statues such as these should be rebuilt as a sign of history; what has happened and what should never happen again. On the other hand, they are the iconic figures of tyrants who caused the death and suffering of many and might prove to be unacceptable in modern society. With monuments such as the Holocaust Memorial in Boston and the many war memorials erected over the years, they commemorate the deaths of many and the honoring of their struggles. Yet they are not portrayed as the figures who caused them. When people go to the Holocaust Memorial for instance, they respect the lives of those perished whose identification numbers are written on the glass panels. The memorial is not a statue of Hitler because many people would see this as a way of support for him, not a way of honoring the dead. However, it is, after all, history. If Josef Stalin's monument(s) were to be rebuilt, would it/they be considered disrespectful? It's all a matter of opinion.
ReplyDeleteThe memorial that I chose was the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. A Veteran by the name of Jan C. Scruggs made a huge effort for a Vietnam Veterans Memorial and after some time it was funded and approved. A competition for its design was set forth. A college student named Maya Lin had to design a Vietnam Memorial for her final exam in a monuments class. After it was done, her professor encouraged her to submit her design for the compitition. Her design was very symbolic yet very simple at the same time. Out of the hundreds of designs submited, Maya's was chosen. She was immediately in the view of the public, and much debate and contreversy occurred. Maya got a lot of criticism. Regular people as well as some veterans opposed her design. The veterans that opposed stated that her design did not represent everything that it was supposed to. Many argued that her design only honored those who died in the War, and not those that fought and still sacrificed a lot but lived. Out of 2.7 million people who fought in the war, only 57,000 people died. The Veterans did not find this fair. Because of all the controversy, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial was finally built with thee different parts; one of which included Maya Lin's design which was a wall. The other two designs were a Three Servicemen Statue designed by Frederick Hart and a Vietnam Women's Memorial created by Glenna Goodacre. This way, the memorial was compromised by the many different opinions
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