Monuments and memorials for the victims of National Socialism

[6] Dealing with the historical monument was, without a doubt, the most difficult part. Respect for tradition and a new conceptual thinking flow together in Dagmar Pachtners design which leads to a new way of looking at the history: no tomb situation allowing a horrific view, no vandalism, no deliberate irony or playfulness. Instead a chronological row along an imaginary line of space and time, especially through those periods most influenced by National Socialism. The testament of historical memorial culture can now be analytically observed. Gone is the traditional symmetry, the styles of plinths, the ceremonial form which lead them to be viewed as normal monuments. The ritual path has changed into a reflective one. The cubes, steps and base stones have been brought together to form a new wall, but not into a new "Wailing Wall", or a dramatic memorial wall but instead to a seating area which leads the eye first to the steles with the NAZI victims, then on to the complete ensemble and finally to contemplation.

Stefanie Endlich. Das dialogische Prinzip, Anmerkungen zum Entwurf von Dagmar Pachtner. In the memorial documentation 1999, Pg. 12