Here are some Responses to DENK MAL AM ORT
There are no words for the feelings you gave
us.
Astrid Hooyberg, Amsterdam/Netherlands,
visitor
Bringing history alive and connecting it to life stories and concrete locations is the best way of coming to terms with history and making sure that people are not forgotten. Please do not let up in your commitment. Thank you in advance for that. I was particularly touched by your support for Ms. Samter and her family. This is lived solidarity.
Angelika Schöttler, district mayor of Tempelhof-Schöneberg, visitor
How do you find the right words when someone gives you back
part of your family history? I have only gratitude for your “Denk Mal am Ort”, which has now become an important part of my life. You give people back their dignity. From now on I am one of you,
I want to raise my voice in the name of humanity!! Thank you for your love of humanity. The world needs voices that support justice!!
Claudia Samter, Mar del
Plata/Argentina, daughter of a survivor
DENK MAL AM ORT is an act of community remembrance. Families come to life again in the homes that they were forced to leave. Nothing could be more familiar, comforting or ordinary than a kitchen.
And to sit in a kitchen that was a Jewish family kitchen, where a family that cooked and ate together was removed to be murdered or deported, enables one to feel the horror of what happened as if
for the first time. The generosity of the Berliners who participate in DMAO, opening their homes to the public, researching the lives of Jews who were deported or emigrated, is a healing
experience for the Jewish descendants who take part, as the past and present come together for a weekend.
Jo Glanville, London/England, daughter of a survivor
A highly commendable initiative
that should be supported and emulated.
Ronald Dofing, Luxembourg Ambassador, visitor
I was touched beyond words to be able to participate. It was awesome, to use a trite word, but, nonetheless, the expression fits! The Germans I met were most impressive in their humanity, and the participants had compelling stories and were earnest in their feelings and presentations. What a unique and special occasion to witness and participate in a homegrown, authentic program developed by real humans, not politicians or diplomats.
I do believe I will return to Germany, which I have never said before. Something is calling me back.
Karen Levi, Rockville, Maryland/USA, daughter of a survivor
Such a brilliant and moving
initiative. To remember the horrors (never forget!) in place. It gives powerful impressions to be in the space, imagining the fear, the deportations and to remember the people by name who were so
brutalized. Thank you!
Judith Jaeger, Wilmington, Delaware/USA, visitor
My wife and I were here for the first time. We were extremely
moved.
Helmut Kleinschmidt and Eva Krawietz, Frankfurt am
Main, visitor
We had numerous visitors at Mommsenstrasse 6 on both days. You could sense how moved people
were by the fate of the Fiegel and Isaacsohn families, particularly by Naomi and Paul Fiegel’s accounts. They had come from Australia to recall their family. Denk Mal am Ort is a personal form of
memory culture, one that cultivates civic engagement. We would love to see this initiative become infectious. It would be great if more people uncovered the history of their homes and their
former neighbours, and told their stories within the scope of DMAO, and not only in Berlin.
Claudia Saam and Dr. Wolf-Rüdiger Baumann, Berlin, participants
From January to May this year, our world changed and we learnt a lot about our family and Berlin citizens’ lives during the Nazi period. My brother and I travelled from Sydney, Australia to Berlin to participate in the event and share our family’s experiences. We brought our father’s diary with us for the exhibition. Without DMAO, it would have remained unread, sitting on a bookshelf in Sydney. Its significance never understood. DMAO provided an extraordinary experience.
DMAO makes a great contribution at a community level and a personal
level. For me personally, I have learnt so much about my family (...) DMAO and the generosity of Wolf and Claudia has given me a deep understanding of my family’s heritage and their life
experiences. I will bring my family to Berlin in the future so they can learn about their history and continue to share this history with their generation - now and into the
future.
Naomi Fiegel,
Sydney/Australia, daughter and grand-daughter of survivors
Our neighbours’ commitment is invaluable, both for lived
memory and for today’s house community: it attracts interested outsiders but it also fosters communication among the neighbours in our own building and brings them closer together. The atmosphere
in our building is changing, there is a growing sense of togetherness. Heartfelt thanks for that, too.
Beatrix Althen-Schnippenkoetter,
Berlin, visitor
… think how old the house is … think who used to live here once, in the front
building, in the back building … think who climbed the stairs, who sat around the fountain, who loved, who hated, who ate with whom, drank, who shared their worries with a neighbour, who decided
to move and kept it a secret, who was anxious, who was carefree … think of the community in an apartment building … until suddenly those people are in our heads … when we climb the stairs, open
the door, walk across the courtyard … think of the place … a very special way of remembering …
Mo Zenke, Berlin, visitor
Deeply moved by the lectures and conversations beyond all
borders.
Carole Maykels, Netherlands, visitor
The story of a woman of Jewish origin who discovered her past through this blog
Tolerance is not enough; people should not just be tolerated.
It’s about dignity. Society should think about that. When I heard these family histories at locations where they originally occurred, I realized that we too are contemporary
witnesses. We
bear responsibility for our own history and can shape the history of today as well as that of the future.
Susana Fernández Molina, visitor, creator of www.theurbanactivist.com
Greatly moved!
Sophia
Schlette, Berlin, visitor
Thank you so very much. What you have been doing here – for years – is soooo important!!!
Reinhardt
Schultz, Berlin, visitor