Memorials
The history of the 20th century has left its marks at many places in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Some of them are evidence of dictatorship and resistance, of racial hatred, war and misery and suffering. These memorials are frequent reminders of the past. They tell us about the history of national socialism, the Soviet occupation or the GDR. Some of them are places with a multiple history, which have been used or abused by different political systems in the course of time.
Many are at the same time admonitory memorials: 20,000 graves on the Usedom Golm underscore the madness of the Second World War. Just like this place most of the memorials in our state remind us of the darkest years of German history.
Other places tell us about life in the GDR – for example "the socialistic village" of Mestlin, which is still dominated today by its monumental culture house. The Grenzhus (Border House) in Schlagsdorf reports about everyday life at the inner German border.
There is one thing which all memorials have in common: They bring history to life, they are constant reminders of the past and help us to better understand the context.