A new street name in Berlin’s government district is intended to strengthen Jewish remembrance in Germany. A section of today’s Dorotheenstrasse is to be renamed Yad-Vashem-Strasse after the Holocaust memorial in Jerusalem, according to the building commission of the Council of Elders German Bundestag recommended. A spokeswoman for the Bundestag confirmed this to ZEIT. Accordingly, it is about the section between Friedrich-Ebert-Platz and Wilhelmstrasse. There is the Jakob-Kaiser-Haus with many parliamentary offices, and the Reichstag building is only a few meters away.
“The Senate of the country Berlin as well as its Mitte district are receiving positive support from the German Bundestag when it comes to initiating the necessary measures to rename the streets,” it said in a statement. Bundestag Vice President Omid Nouripour (Greens), who chairs the building commission, said: “The unwavering commitment to securing Jewish life in our country is more important than ever.”
Renaming realistic next year
The initiative goes back to the Friends of Yad Vashem association. Berlin’s governing mayor Kai Wegner (CDU) supports the proposal. Next, the Bundestag Council of Elders must approve the proposal. “I am confident that the Council of Elders will support the recommendation,” Nouripour said. It will then be the turn of the Berlin House of Representatives and the Mitte district to take appropriate steps. A renaming could then take place next year.
The memorial founded in 1953 Yad Vashem in Jerusalem serves for remembrance, research, documentation and education with regard to the holocaust. The site preserves millions of names and documents to keep memories alive and educate future generations about the genocide of Jews committed by the Nazis. Yad Vashem is currently preparing to set up a Holocaust education center in Germany.
