Decision on the design for the memorial at the Grossmarkthalle

The memorial commemorating the deportation of over 10,000 members of Frankfurt’s Jewish population will constitute a long ramp descending gradually towards the basement of the Grossmarkthalle. On 11 March 2011 the City of Frankfurt am Main, in close collaboration with the Jewish Community Frankfurt, the European Central Bank and the jury panel (chaired by Nikolaus Hirsch, Director of the Städelschule) voted in favour of this design, which offers a symbolic insight into this dark period of history. In May last year each of the three second place winners were asked to fine-tune their designs. A total of 139 architects’ offices submitted design proposals for the competition launched by the City of Frankfurt.

The chosen design for the memorial was developed by Cologne-based architects, KATZKAISER GbR. The focal point of the design is a concrete ramp that will incorporate parts of the original ramp that ran from the eastern border of the site down into the basement, which, as of 1941, served as an assembly area for Jewish citizens before their deportation. High walls running along each side of the ramp turn the gaze of visitors towards the Grossmarkthalle and the basement room that is to be preserved in its original condition as an “authentic site”. This basement room of the eastern wing building will be partially accessible to the general public via the ECB’s site. The walls and floor of the ramp will be engraved with personal stories of the deported. Furthermore, an abstract replica of a section of the railway tracks on which the trains used to leave the Grossmarkthalle site for the concentration and extermination camps is to be installed.