Views vary on how manners matter

By ROBERT N. JENKINS
Published August 7, 2005

Last Sunday, I wrote about finding magician David Copperfield in Berlin's recently opened Holocaust memorial while more than a half-dozen photographers took pictures or filmed him. I told him the memorial was no place for publicity shots, but he said the photographers - who had been enlisted to publicize an upcoming magic stunt in Berlin - would not listen if he asked them to leave.

I noted in the column that before it opened, the memorial's designer, American architect Peter Eisenman, had said he understood that a Holocaust memorial in Berlin could be the target of anti-Semitism, but this was part of modern life. He also said he would not mind skateboarding or children playing among the upright slabs that are the memorial.

I asked readers to share their ideas on behavior in places that are meant for solemn contemplation - and dozens of you did. Here are excerpts:

We must remember the reason why these memorials are memorials and why they are placed where they are. Nowadays, it's a shame that many young people don't have a sense of . . . their past.

Tom DuLaney, Tarpon Springs

It was not a smart decision to build in the very center of Berlin such a monstrous museum. For Berliners it is like putting the Star of David on top of the Brandenburg Gate.

The generation now finds less sympathy with the constant guilt bombardment; they had nothing to do with the Holocaust.

They feel Berliners suffered as much as many of their Jewish friends during Word War II and the combination Hitler, Stalin, Churchill and Roosevelt had to bring catastrophic results, especially after England and France declared war on Germany.

George Habeck, New Port Richey

The idea that nothing is sacred and that profit is the only thing that matters has grown into . . . a kudzu of the soul.

(But) survivors of the Holocaust whom I have met would be quite happy to hear the laughter of children playing in that monument. The crass materialism of using it for publicity certainly does not fall in the same category, but children laughing represents the continuation of the life and joy that things like the Holocaust seek to destroy and take from us all.

Denise Turner, St. Petersburg

I agree with the concern you expressed (but) a memorial's designer/architect has no right to determine the amount of respect, reverence or compassion society should show to the subjects of "his" memorial. Although Eisenman feels that graffiti or skateboarding is acceptable, would every relative of every victim agree with him?

Michele Clark, Spring Hill

On the first anniversary of 9/11, I visited the World Trade Center site. I was aghast to see hawkers with cheap picture books and replicas of what we had lost, fighting for sidewalk space with vendors selling food and drink . . .

The fence of an adjacent church was covered with tributes. As I stood there numb with shock, three young women jumped in front of the fence, their arms around their shoulders, grinning broadly for a fourth tourist with a camera. I had to react: I stood in front of them, so the picture could not be made, and I yelled, "You ought to be ashamed of yourselves." I rushed away and did not look back.

Maryhelen Harmon, Tampa

Respect, sensitivity, kindness and empathy are on a fast, downward slope in this country and many other Western, so-called "civilized" countries.

Barbara Johnson, Clearwater

Had (Copperfield) wanted to view the memorial in private, he simply would have. The German press account of how he was posed for each shot clearly tells it . . .

Respect is often taught by the family or elders of "the village" that surrounds all of us . . . Let's hope we can pass along the respect due to the past of these and other such memorial/monuments by being, in the words of Gandhi, "the change we want to see in the world."

Lisa Brock, Tampa

All hail the boorish American tourist and self-appointed member of the Political Correctness Police. Perhaps your next trip should be to the American South, where you can puff up again with self-importance and sneer at displays of the Confederate flag.

Jack Grubel, Largo

I recall many years ago during my first visit to Dachau that there was graffiti on the crematorium ovens and that European kids were running races on the gravel paths between the dormitories. As angry as I was, I reflected that such irreverence was nothing compared to similar misbehavior at the time of the actual murders.

James Dannenberg, Kailua, Hawaii

Copperfield's hubris and stardom have superseded his lack of respect and remembrance for his possible relatives who were murdered in the Holocaust.

Dr. J. Hirschfield, Seminole

If we have no understanding of the tragedy, we will react as did the teens and children you saw: hiding behind the steles for a smoke, or playing games.

If we deface the steles, mock them, exploit them or intimidate visitors, we are either ignorant or we reject the concept or the expression. We are on the side of the perpetrators.

All of these reactions, whether we like them or not, become part of the greater meaning of the art, and turn cold slabs into something viable.

And in the end, they convey the profound message of the Holocaust: Never forget.

Mary Ann Marger, St. Petersburg

[Last modified August 5, 2005, 10:28:03]