The memorial »Passages« of the Israeli artist Dani Karavan, opened in 1994 in Portbou in Catalonia, commemorates the German-Jewish philosopher Walter Benjamin (1892–1940) who, as a refugee from the Nazis, chose to end his life here.
Between 1934 and 1944, the coastal town of Portbou on the Costa Brava near the French border was an important meeting point for emigrants from France and Germany. The German philosopher and literary critic Walter Benjamin arrived as a refugee in Portbou after crossing the Pyrenees Mountains led by Lisa (1909–2005) and Hans (1903–1960) Fittko on September 25 and 26, 1940. From there, Benjamin wanted to travel on to Lisbon and from there to the United States for which he had a valid visa. The Spanish authorities, however, refused him entry and decided to send him back to France where he was most likely to be arrested by the Gestapo. In the night before his deportation, from September 26 to 27, Benjamin took his own life in the Hotel »Francia de Portbou« by overdosing morphine. His body is buried in the local cemetery.
The Geman-Jewish philosopher, cultural and literary critic, translator and refugee Walter Benjamin (1892–1940) ended his own life in the night of 26 to 27 September 1940 in Portbou. His best known works are »The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction« from 1935 and his unfinished »Passagen-Werk« (»The Arcades Project«).
The idea for the memorial came from German President Richard von Weizsäcker (1920–2015). It is situated in front of the entrance of the cemetery of Portbou where Walter Benjamin is buried. The environmental sculpture »Passages« which can be entered and crossed on foot was designed by the Israeli artist Dani Karavan and inaugurated on May 15, 1994 in the presence of Lisa Fittko. She was an Austrian resistance fighter who had helped Walter Benjamin cross the Pyrenees to Spain. »Passages« consists of different elements made of steel spread across the landscape. At the end of the corridor that leads to the Mediterranean Sea, there is the German quote: »It is harder to honour the memory of the nameless than that of the famous. Historical construction is dedicated to the memory of the nameless. Walter Benjamin, G. S. I, 1241«. It is a quote from his last essay »On the Concept of History«, written in 1939.
Since September 2007, there is a tourist path from Banyuls-sur-Mer to Portbou, following the exact route that Lisa and Hans Fittko used to help refugees get to Spain. It bears the name »Ruta / Chemin Walter Benjamin«.
Since September 2007, there is a tourist path from Banyuls-sur-Mer to Portbou, following the exact route that Lisa and Hans Fittko used to help refugees get to Spain. It bears the name »Ruta / Chemin Walter Benjamin«.
- Name
- »Passatges« – El Memorial Walter Benjamin a Portbou
- Address
-
Pujada del Mirador
17497 Portbou - Phone
- +34 (0)972 390 284
- Fax
- +34 (0)972 125 123
- Web
- http://walterbenjaminportbou.cat/
- portbou@portbou.cat
- Open
- The memorial is accessible at all times.
- Possibilities
- Annual memorial ceremony on 11 September; programs are posted on the city’s official website