Sitting on a plot of 1,950 square meters, the Memorial is made up of two symmetrical cor-ten steel parallelepiped blocks, each measuring ten by ten metres. The blocks, which sit adjacent to one another, create a dramatic pathway that begins with a width of 160 centimetres before narrowing to just 80 centimetres, generating a strong sensory experience; this gradual opening invites visitors to step inside the sculpture where there is space for individual contemplation —an experience also reminiscent of the narrow pathways between the massive stone slabs of Peter Eisenman’s Berlin Holocaust Memorial.

Once inside the passageway, one steps on a surface of basalt stone chippings, commonly used to form the bed of a railway track, evoking memories of the Judenrampe, the railroad tracks between the two Auschwitz camps. On either side, two grids of horizontal and vertical metal sheets create repetitive box-shaped modules reminiscent of the dark, airless cells of the dormitories in the concentration camps. Introducing a strong language of symbolisms, SET Architects use cor-ten steel, a material that continues to evolve around the ambient environmental conditions, as a medium displaying “the vestiges of time”.