Solid concrete slab: Mera designs monument to extend the International Memorial on the Neuengamme concentration camp site

In May 2025, a new monument was unveiled on the Neuengamme concentration camp memorial site. This country memorial shows the home countries of the Neuengamme victims and was designed by Hamburg-based Mera landscape architects in collaboration with 2erpack Identity. Gödde-Beton from Wadersloh in North Rhine-Westphalia took care of implementing the project.

The International Memorial in Neuengamme has been commemorating the victims of the concentration camp since 1965. The new country memorial complements the existing memorial while accounting for the historical and political changes that have taken place since 1989/90. More specifically, the successor states of the USSR and the Warsaw Pact no longer felt adequately represented by the historical designation “USSR,” and thus requested their own, individual appreciation.

The recently completed extension of the memorial meets this requirement. The solid concrete slab weighing 4.3 metric tons has a diameter of 3 m and is 25 cm thick. It bears the current names of 70 countries from which the Neuengamme victims came. The names of these countries are written in the respective local language and script and arranged in a spiral in alphabetical order from the outside to the inside, following a completely non-judgmental approach.

Gödde-Beton produced the slab in March 2025, transported it to Hamburg in mid-April, and installed it at the memorial on April 16, 2025.

Struggle for non-hierarchical implementation

The idea for the actual design arose from a very thorough discussion about how to commemorate the victims in a dignified, equitable, and internationally comprehensible manner. Johannes Hügle, Managing Director of Mera GmbH, describes the process as follows: “The concept for the memorial extension resulted from a thorough exchange with international associations of former prisoners and their relatives as well as with historians from several countries, and a public workshop that provided the space for in-depth discussions. The aim was not to favor or disadvantage any nation. The final solution – a spiral, alphabetical arrangement of all country names in their respective languages – was developed through thorough professional exchange and in personal encounters, which is precisely where remembrance and commemoration has a lasting effect. The design idea expresses equality of all nations while overcoming any hierarchy.

Sophisticated production process

Gödde-Beton GmbH based in Wadersloh in North Rhine-Westphalia was commissioned with producing the slab in a sophisticated, technically demanding design while adhering to utmost accuracy standards. Particular attention was paid to the exact implementation of the inscriptions: Milled mirror-image inlays were inserted into a specially designed form. The monolithic piece was then cast in light gray fair-faced concrete. The slab cured and hardened under controlled conditions prior to finishing its surface. Fine sanding brought out the fine-grained texture of the concrete, emphasizing the contrast of the relief lettering.

Dietrich Buddeberg, project manager at Gödde-Beton, recounts a moment during the production process that impressively underscores the purpose of the project: Even while the mirror-image letters and characters were still being set, the emerging monument aroused great interest among the workforce. Employees with and without an international background repeatedly gathered around the piece, trying to locate their home countries or decipher the unfamiliar spellings and characters. This is exactly what the monument aims to achieve: Onlookers should experience the memorial site and establish a personal connection to it – a living symbol countering oblivion.

Complex logistics, safe and secure delivery

Delivery of the concrete element weighing over four tons required preparatory measures already during the production process: Special blockouts for hoisting gear were integrated into the cast to ensure safe transport.

For the last stretch of the journey to the memorial, which was overseen by gardening and landscaping company Joachim Ehmcke & Söhne from Börnsen, paths had to be covered with steel and rubber plates since the element was suspended from the arm of an excavator while being transported. It was placed with pinpoint precision on the foundation prepared on the International Memorial site.