Europe Tour

Berlin: a question about remembrance

Valon Asani · · 1 min read

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Original video. The written article below is available in English, Albanian and German.

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In Berlin, I asked how German soldiers killed in war are remembered. I said there was no monument for them. That was too sweeping. The better question begins by looking at what the memorials actually say.

Historical context: Germany does have memorials to victims of war. In Berlin, the Neue Wache was dedicated in 1993 as the central national memorial to victims of war and tyranny. The official dedication statement describes that purpose. It is a place of remembrance, not a celebration of military victory.

This does not identify the location shown in my clip, or verify the casualty figure in its caption. It does change how the question should be asked: who is being remembered, and what does a monument say about them? The original video and this context belong together.

Another correction from the trip concerns the League of Prizren and the Congress of Berlin. The order of events matters there too.

Original TikTok post

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