ABSTRACT
Based on visitor observations and exit interviews, this chapter analyses the diverse visitor reactions at German memorial sites. The sites that commemorate the Nazi past highlight the significance of the cultural background as German visitors can deal with conflicting emotions, while international visitors might approach the sites with emotional distance. Moreover, at the concentration camp memorials, visitors are increasingly influenced by a globalised Holocaust memory culture that largely focuses on Auschwitz. The absence of historical structures and beautiful landscapes at Flossenbürg and Ravensbrück can lead to sense of disappointment as visitors expect a grim site, frozen in time. Thus, authenticity is a social construction and depends not only on originality. By contrast, at the least authentic site, the House of the Wannsee Conference, tourists described a chilly and oppressive atmosphere, highlighting the importance of imagination and emotions. At Bautzen II, emotions could run high when encountering original features of the Stasi prison. At the same time, Bautzen II has shown that empathy is fragile and not necessarily an outcome of the visit.
