The Berlin Holocaust Memorial is still cracked, repair unclear

Berlin - Most of the 2,711 concrete blocks of the Berlin Holocaust Memorial have cracks five years after the unveiling. This was announced by the foundation that manages the memorial, according to the AP agency. It is not yet clear how they will be repaired.
    Two-thirds of the slabs are damaged, and experts have not yet determined how to fix the issues, said foundation director Uwe Neumärker. However, he assured that visitors are not in any danger. Neumärker also does not believe that the cracks cannot be repaired.
    The newspaper Bild reported that the harsh winter had damaged at least 2,200 blocks. The paper quoted an expert who did not rule out the possibility that the memorial, built at a cost of 27.6 million euros (about 711 million crowns), could be completely demolished and rebuilt.
    However, Neumärker rejected this. He stated that the number of damaged concrete pieces is "speculation" and that a detailed survey of the extent of the damage has not yet been conducted. Last year, cracks were counted on 1,900 slabs, he added.
    The first cracks appeared in 2006, a year after the memorial opened. Experts attempted to fill the joints, but the result was, according to Neumärker, unsatisfactory. The foundation is now determining who is responsible for the cracks and who will pay for the repairs.
    The memorial is accessible to the public all day. According to estimates, it has been visited by about eight million people over the past five years.