Places of Memory : The Case of the House of the Wannsee Conference

Places of Memory examines the post-war history of the site where the 1942 Wannsee Conference was held. The author analyses the different uses of the house to investigate how a site turns into a site of memory. In 1942, a group of high-ranking Nazis came together in a villa in Berlin to discuss the Final Solution, during what is now called the Wannsee Conference. Fifty years later that same villa was turned into a memorial site and museum for one of the most infamous episodes of the history of the Holocaust. Today, hundreds of people a day visit the house to learn about its history. Why did it take so long for the house to become a 'site of memory'? And what happened to the house in the meantime? This book takes the case of the House of the Wannsee Conference as a starting point to investigate how and why buildings and places transform from regular places to 'carriers of memory'. How can a house become haunted by its past? And why do we visit historical places to get a sense of the past? Front Matter....Pages i-viii Introduction....Pages 1-11 An Introduction to Space and Place....Pages 12-18 The Conference and the House....Pages 19-28 The Discussion about the Haus am Grossen Wannsee 56–58 in the West German Press....Pages 29-41 Memory Space and Memory Place....Pages 42-52 Authenticity....Pages 53-65 Conclusion....Pages 66-69 Back Matter....Pages 70-77 Cover -- Half-Title -- Title -- Copyright -- Contents -- List of Figures -- Acknowledgements -- Introduction -- 1 An Introduction to Space and Place -- 2 The Conference and the House -- 3 The Discussion about the Haus am Grossen Wannsee 56-58 in the West German Press -- 4 Memory Space and Memory Place -- 5 Authenticity -- Conclusion -- Bibliography -- Index