Memorylab | Dr. Günter Schlusche

Contact:
schlusche@stiftung-berliner-mauer.de

Current living place:
Berlin, Germany

Dr. Günter Schlusche

Architect / Planner, Berlin Wall Foundation

My organization:
The Berlin Wall Foundation, established by law as a public foundation, is aimed to secure public commemoration to the Berlin Wall and the division of Berlin, Germany and Europe between 1945 and 1989. It runs the National Monument dedicated to the memory of the of the divided city and the victims of Communist tyranny, the Open-Air-Exhibition with the Window of Remembrance on the former border strip along BernauerStrasse and the adjacent Documentation and Visitors Centre.

Examples of concrete activities I have organized/am organizing in the field of “dealing with the past”:

I am responsible for the extension of the Berlin Wall Memorial, and all related planning, construction, and financial management issues. Between 1996 and 2005 I was the planning and construction manager for the Memorial to the murdered Jews of Europe in Berlin’s centre. Since more than 20 years I have organised and participated in many national and international workshops and conferences (e.g. Vilnius, Gdansk, Bratislava, Krakow, Lille, Munich, Berlin, Potsdam, etc) according to these projects.

Concrete challenges I am facing in my “dealing with the past”-related work:

The main challenge is to find contemporary ways of expressing the past and making it understandable for young people and for future generations. It is also important to preserve authentic relicts and remnants of this past without generating nostalgia. The understanding of the past should become an integrated part of present day life.

My personal link to/interest for the topic of “dealing with difficult pasts”:
In my opinion the understanding of the difficult past is vital for the understanding of actual developments here in Germany and in Europe., since Germany was divided due to the Nationalsocialistic period between 1933 and 1945. Elementary civil values like democracy and human rights can only be practised and renewed by understanding and analyzing this background. Besides that I am privately engaged since 20 years in the “Association for the exploration of lives and works of German Jewish architects” (Board member).