Knife attack on the Holocaust monument: Put the police suspect!

Knife attack on the Holocaust monument: Put the police suspect!

Holocaust-Denkmal, 10117 Berlin, Deutschland - The Berlin police arrested a suspected perpetrator after a severe knife attack on the Holocaust memorial. The incident occurred on Friday evening around 6 p.m. in the northern part of the monument for the murdered Jews of Europe. A man was seriously injured and attacked with a pointed object, possibly a knife. Firefighters performed immediate emergency care before the victim was taken to a hospital. Fortunately, there is no danger to life, and the condition of the man is stable.

A folding knife was found at the scene and the police cordoned off the area around Behrenstrasse. According to police spokesman Florian Nath, however, there is no danger for other people. Details on the type and the extent of the injuries are currently still unclear. The investigation includes whether the crime is related to the US message or the memorial. The police had a quick intervention to rule out possible further dangers.

the Holocaust monument and its meaning

The monument to the murdered Jews in Europe, which is in Berlin-Mitte, is reminiscent of the estimated six million Jewish victims of the Holocaust under Adolf Hitler and the National Socialists. The monument draft comes from Peter Eisenman and comprises 2711 cuboid concrete stelts, which were built on an area of ​​19,000 m². The ceremonial inauguration took place on May 10, 2005, and the monument has been accessible to the public since May 12, 2005.

In the first years after the opening, the memorial counted over 3.5 million visitors. The design of the monument, which works between 0.5 m and 4.7 m with its corrugated floor space and the varying heights of the steles, has experienced a positive response regarding its acoustics and integration into Berlin city life. Despite the occasional act of vandalism, such as spraying swastikas, and the need for renovations, the monument remains a central place of memory and reflection.

The site on which the monument was built was one of the ministerial gardens before the Second World War, while a bunker by Joseph Goebbels was discovered in the course of the construction work. Underground, the monument has a memorial exhibition that offers space for information and reflection and contains the names of numerous holocaust victims.