Repair work has begun at Berlin’s Holocaust memorial, reinforcing hundreds of concrete blocks, which have developed potentially dangerous cracks, the Associated Press reported on March 16.
Memorial foundation spokesman Uwe Neumaerker said that experts have revealed that the damage caused to 380 of the 2,711 blocks is so severe that it could pose a threat to visitors.
“The damage, blamed on the weather, has been a problem for several years. The foundation unsuccessfully tried to fix the blocks with resin in 2008,” noted the AP.
Prior to its inauguration in 2005, the memorial had been the subject of much heated controversy, as many claimed it was too abstract to effectively convey the suffering of the Jews.
“There are no plaques, inscriptions or symbols along the way,” said the BBC, and the “stones have been treated with an anti-graffiti agent that authorities hope will ward off vandals and neo-Nazi sympathisers.”
Many have also criticized Berlin, capital of the Third Reich, for taking so long to erect a monument to commemorate the victims of Nazi atrocities.
Yet, Peter Eisenman, the monument’s architect denies the claims, asserting that, "One hundred years from now, people will not say 'this came too late'. For me, it is still early.”