Two years on, Berlin Holocaust memorial needs repair

BERLIN, Aug 9 (Reuters) Just two years after it opened, cracks have appeared in the concrete slabs that make up Berlin's Holocaust memorial and repairs will have to be made, the memorial foundation said.

Unveiled in 2005 after years of controversy, the monument to the European Jews killed in the Holocaust consists of 2,711 rectangular blocks of varying heights -- the tallest about 4.7 metres -- that form a grid pattern visitors can wander through.

Cracks, often running the entire length of a slab and several centimetres deep, have appeared in about 400 of the charcoal-coloured blocks. Two have been removed for examination by experts, but they have been unable work out the cause.

''We are working together with the architect, Peter Eisenman, on a solution'', said a spokesman for the memorial foundation.

The repair work on the memorial, which cost 28 million euros will likely involve sealing the cracks with synthetic resin. ''We'll try to find a way of making the cracks invisible.'' The company which made the slabs must foot the bill for the majority of the repair, the foundation said. But shallower cracks would have to be fixed at taxpayers' expense, they added.

The monument, which sits in the heart of the government quarter between the Brandenburg Gate and the sealed off remains of Adolf Hitler's bunker, was the subject of fierce debate and took 17 years from inception to opening.

Critics argued the design is too abstract and that it lies in too prominent a location. Others have attacked the decision to honour the Jews and exclude other victims of Nazi terror.

But the memorial has become one of the most popular places to visit in Berlin.

Reuters VD GC0833