Keystone-SDA
The Confederation launched a multidisciplinary competition on Friday aimed at carrying out a memorial in favor of the victims of Nazism in Bern. The Federal Council had made the decision to erect a place of memory of the holocaust in 2023.
(Keystone-ATS) The place will be free, accessible to everyone and “integrated into the daily life of the city”, said the press release from the Federal Foreign Affairs Department (DFAE). He will see the memory of the millions of murdered Jews as well as the other victims of the Nazi regime. The history of Switzerland at the time and a reflection on its role with regard to the crimes of masses committed at the time will also be the themes addressed.
A place of exchange and teaching
The specifications decreed by the jury chaired by the art historian Madeleine Schuppli addresses both in the fields of architecture, art and historical education. The memorial also aims to promote exchange and dialogue, and to raise awareness of democratic and human rights issues, adds the DFAE.
Located on the Casino terrace, a stone’s throw from the Federal Palace, this location was proposed by the authorities of the city of Berne. The memorial quoted to 2.5 million francs will eventually be administered by a support association made up of the Swiss Federation of Israelite Communities, the company for minorities in Switzerland and the archives of contemporary history of the Zurich EPF. The decision of the jury concerning the project selected will be rendered in 2026, and the project should be released by 2028.