Jüdisches Mahnmal / Jewish Memorial

The Jewish Memorial was constructed at the site of the former synagogue in Paderborn. The synagogue stood in this location from 1882 until November 9th-10th 1938, when it was set on fire and destroyed during Kristallnacht. The memorial was unveiled in 1993 to commemorate the fate of the Jewish citizens, as well as the victims from the former Jewish labor camp and Jewish orphanage in Paderborn.
Danish artist Per Kirkeby has been creating brick sculptures in public spaces since 1973. His entry to the 1987 Skulptur Projekte in Münster resulted in a tension between aesthetics and purpose. The memorial had to fit into its immediate surroundings, but also remain “angular and, to an extent, off-putting.” Constructed out of red and yellow brick, his sculpture is reminiscent of an architectural fragment with three round arches.
However, with its black, non-functional window openings and blocky overall shape, it seems more like a sculpture and is an unmistakable reference to a building that no longer exists. It asserts that the story behind it should be remembered.