In a new political climate that expects expressions of remorse for past atrocities, public memorialization provides one means to this end. This paper takes a close look at two such spaces: Berlin's Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe commemorating Jewish victims of the Holocaust (2005), and Montgomery's National Memorial for Peace and Justice (2018): the first-ever monument to victims of lynching in the United States. This research bridges the gap between atrocities, examining the motivations that informed both memorial spaces and the public's differing receptions of them based primarily on the physicality of both spaces.
Through a mixed-method approach comprised of fieldwork and content analysis of visitor reviews, the author demonstrates that the structures' distinct locations and physical designs play a pivotal role in the public's interaction with them. Key findings include the impact of the Berlin monument's higher degree of abstraction and its perennial openness to the public in contrast to Montgomery's concealed site and ticketing system: a divergence that results in a more casual relationship comprised of public play in Berlin, and a space of higher reverence in Montgomery. The author concludes that not only do design decisions impact the type of emotional reaction they elicit, but that memorials as a whole can contribute toward national efforts of restitution.
