ABSTRACT
If, as Walter Benjamin claimed, to live is to leave traces, what becomes of the traces of lives which were evil? How is one to erase those traces, should one wish to do so? The question is set in perspective by the recent history of 25 Cromwell Road, Gloucester, England, the former home of Fred and Rose West. The house was the site of numerous crimes and murders for which Rose West was convicted, Fred West having committed suicide before he could stand trial. Following the conviction of Rose West, the house was physically eradicated. The building materials were systematically ground down, and a memorial walkway established on the vacant plot.1
