ABSTRACT
Germany is often admired for its efforts in confronting a difficult past in the public sphere. Yet, within Germany, criticism about its rigid memory culture is getting louder. Avoiding emotionally overburdening visitors and safeguarding the material traces at memorial sites is laudable but has neglected the engagement with individual visitors since educational programmes tend to focus on the school visitors. Moreover, an increasingly diverse German society for whom the Nazi and/or GDR past are not a personal one requires a different approach to memorialisation. In order to remain relevant, German memorial sites will need to design intrinsically motivating exhibitions which challenge visitors beyond what they already know. Unconventional events such as the photography course at Bergen-Belsen can also provide new opportunities for engagement. As visitors value the sensual experience at memorial sites, technology such as audio walks can enhance the emotional connection to the sites. Thus, this chapter draws on existing knowledge about engaging visitors with museum spaces to suggest a new way for German memorial sites in an age without Zeitzeugen, yet also emphasises the need for more research into visitor reactions with the rise of interactive technologies such as the Holocaust survivor holograms.
