Photomontage for ‘Overwritten‘, 1997
Design: Reinhard Matz, Rudolf Herz; photomontage: Hans Döring
22 Messe Nord / ICC
Overwritten. A Memorial for Europe’s Murdered Jews
Rudolf Herz and Reinhard Matz entered their proposal Überschrieben (Overwritten) in the second round of the Berlin competition to design a memorial to Europe’s murdered Jews in 1997. Instead of a representative memorial in the capital, their plan proposed paving kilometre 334 of the A7 motorway south of Kassel with cobblestones for a distance of one kilometre in both directions and imposing a speed limit of 30km/hour. In this way around 40 million people per year would not only see the monument but be forced to use it – this deliberate interference in the operations of society would be a sign of living remembrance. The motorway or “Autobahn” – a symbol of German economic recovery, epitomising its national identity and to this day still associated in many respects with the legacy of the Third Reich – would thus be a site for pausing and reflection.
The prominently situated plot of land in Berlin originally envisaged for the memorial would be sold and the proceeds used to establish a new foundation to support persecuted minorities. Its funding priorities would be renegotiated each year, making the foundation itself a living memorial. Herz and Matz’s proposal resists symbolic gestures and concrete representation. The key question the artists address to our relentless society with its strong fixation on the present remains: What is actually offensive here? The Holocaust or this form of commemoration?”
Location map Überschrieben, 1997
© Rudolf Herz / Reinhard Matz
For What If Berlin, Akira Takayama transposes unrealised projects from the archives of the Berliner Festspiele and other Berlin cultural institutions, as well as from architects and artists, into the present and asks us which vision we want to realise in the future.
The future vision for the project Overwirtten. A Memorial for Europe’s Murdered Jews, that will be presented in the frame of What If Berlin from 28 August 2026 onwards, will respond to the following question: What if Berlin turned its city highway into a place of memory culture?
Which of the 27 visions for the future is the most exciting? Which project does Berlin need in future? Which idea should actually be realised?
Until 30 September 2026, you can vote for up to three of the 27 visions for the future. The results will be displayed live to give the latest impression of the public’s reactions.