Feature: Germans face up to their holocaust history

Felipe Smith vividly remembered his first time visiting the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe in the center of Berlin.

"The height of concrete slabs and the narrowness of the passages made me feel depressed, the same way I feel about the history of the Holocaust," he said.

The Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe is a memorial to the Jewish victims of the Holocaust, covered with 2,711 concrete slabs that are arranged in a grid pattern on a sloping field. The slabs vary in height from 0.2 to 4.8 m.

"I'm here only when I got visits from friends who wanted to see the Holocaust Memorial," said the 29-year-old Berliner.

In his view, the existence of the Holocaust memorial is more intended for foreign tourists, as he believed that many Germans need not necessarily a memorial to reflect on history.

"Retrospection has been carved into the depths of our soul. I can reflect on the past without paying a visit to a memorial," said Felipe. "When we see something on the news or in the policies, the first thing that comes to our mind is what happened in Germany many years ago must not happen again!"

Felipe said the reason that retrospection is well-rooted in German society comes down to German Government's education reforms in the 70s. Since then, learning about nationalism became a part of the history course in German schools.

In Berlin, students begin to work on the topic of nationalism since fifth grade until they graduated from high school, however, the gradual and progressive approach won't make the seven-year process boring.

"Apart from teacher's lengthy explanation, the students could take the initiative to deal with the topic and present their views to others. It is interesting to see the perspective of other young people," said Felipe, recalling his student days.

Schools would also organize field trips to concentration camps or museums on certain date, such as on 27 January to take a further talk about this period of history.

Fuelled by German media, documentaries and monuments, the Germans keep looking back on history even when they have left school, said Felipe.

"Of course, it's not easy for every German to carry this guilty feeling, but at the same time we're also proud that we acknowledge our mistakes," he said, "Germany is to blame for starting the Second World War, therefore, it's our responsibility to look back, to let our children know about that darker chapter of our history and not to forget."

Felipe said, he plans to pay a visit at the Holocaust Memorial with his two-year-old daughter who hasn't been there before.

"Regardless of whether my child can understand the meaning of this design, I want her to go there to feel it," Felipe said. "We need not only pass on the guilty feeling, but more importantly, the responsibility." Enditem