Last update - 00:00 04/03/2008
Berlin to start sealing cracks in Holocaust memorial slabs
By The Associated Press
Some two-thirds of the slabs that make up the Holocaust memorial in the heart of Berlin have cracked, and repair work will start when the weather improves, an official said Monday.
As many as 1,900 of the 2,711 gray concrete slabs that make up the monument have cracks, although some have only extremely minor damage, said Uwe Neumaerker, a spokesman for the foundation that is responsible for the memorial.
The memorial opened to the public in May 2005. Cracks in several hundred of the slabs emerged last year; earlier this year, an expert suggested that the cause might be weather-induced tensions inside the slabs.
Other possible causes that have been suggested are vibrations from a nearby building site and a suburban railway tunnel.
Neumaerker said repair work will begin with 50 of the slabs getting injections of resin once the weather is good enough.
He said that dry weather with temperatures of at least 10 degrees Celsius is needed to seal the fissures. Berlin is currently going through a spell of cold and wet weather.
It was not immediately clear how much the repairs might cost or how long they would take.
Designed by the American architect Peter Eisenman, the memorial located close to Berlin's signature Brandenburg Gate cost 27.6 million euros ($42 million) to build. The site is open to the public around the clock.
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