At Memory's Edge

How should Germany commemorate the mass murder of Jews committed in its name? In 1997, James E. Young joined a German commission tasked with designing a national memorial in Berlin for the European Jews killed during World War II. As the only foreigner and Jew on the panel, Young gained a unique perspective on Germany's complex efforts to memorialize the Holocaust. He recounts the inside story of Germany's national Holocaust memorial and his role in it. Young explores the broader question of how contemporary artists, who never experienced the Holocaust directly, can remember such a profound event. He examines works by vanguard artists in America and Europe—like Art Spiegelman, Shimon Attie, David Levinthal, and Rachel Whiteread—who were born after the Holocaust yet are deeply influenced by its memory through memoirs, films, photographs, and museums. Addressing the moral and aesthetic challenges posed by these avant-garde projects, Young provides insights into the controversy surrounding Berlin's Jewish museum, designed by Daniel Libeskind, and Germany's national Holocaust memorial, designed by Peter Eisenman. Illustrated with striking images, this book chronicles these projects and reflects on how we remember the Holocaust through its enduring legacy.