Exhibition beneath the Holocaust Memorial with Field of Stelae

Exhibition beneath the Holocaust Memorial with Field of Stelae: the Place of Information

Above ground, around 2,700 concrete stelae stand on over 19,000 square meters, each 95 centimeters wide and 2.38 meters long, with heights between zero and 4.7 meters. The largest weigh about sixteen tons. The field was designed by architect Peter Eisenman and opened on May 10, 2005, on the site of the former ministerial gardens. The construction was preceded by a competition with 528 submissions, and the decision for it was made by the Bundestag in June 1999.

Beneath the field of stelae lies the Place of Information with 800 square meters of exhibition space. Four rooms structure the tour: the Room of Dimensions, the Room of Families, the Room of Names, and the Room of Places. Almost half a million people come here every year. At the transition to Tiergarten, there are 41 trees.

Guided Tours and Educational Programs for School Classes at the Holocaust Memorial

In the Room of Names, short biographies of murdered Jewish men and women are read aloud. This particular part resonates most strongly with school classes, as individual life stories emerge from a mere number. The Room of Places uses a map and film sequences to show where in Europe the atrocities occurred.

Admission is free, both for the field of stelae and for the exhibition. A group tour of the field of stelae lasts 45 minutes, is limited to 25 people, and costs 60 Euros for school classes. Registered groups then get faster access to the exhibition. For longer formats, there are workshops and a project day in the video archive with eyewitness accounts. Exhibition visits are recommended from the age of 14. Worksheets with teacher comments for secondary levels I and II are available for preparation in class. There is a security check at the entrance; tour buses stop on Hannah-Arendt-Straße.