Debate is raging in Germany over whether a church, famous for its links to Hitler and the rise of the Nazi party, should be rebuilt or whether this period of history is best left in the past.
"Buildings aren't just bricks and mortar - they have meaning and say something. If you doubt that, think of the controversy in the German city of Potsdam where a plan to rebuild a church has set factions against each other.
The dispute is, of course, not over just any old church but one of the most significant in German history. The Garrison Church, or Garnisonkirche, was the parish and regimental church of the Prussian royal family. Bach played the organ there and the kings of Prussia, including Frederick the Great, were buried there.
But this is not why it is controversial. It is also the church in which Hitler was legitimised in the eyes of Germany's upper class. On 23 March 1933, the Nazis orchestrated a propaganda performance which transformed Hitler from someone the elite saw as a vulgar little man into someone they respected. "The Day of Potsdam", as it became known, opened the way for him to take all power.
So it's no wonder that there's a row. The church was partially destroyed by the Royal Air Force in 1945 and then obliterated in 1968 by the official dynamiters of communist East Germany. But now the money's being raised for a full reconstruction. A foundation stone has already been laid.
"For me, this church is a symbol of evil," says Maximilian Dalichow who was brought up in Potsdam and opposes the building work.
"It's the place where the Third Reich was born. It's where it came into being."
It is no wonder some say the site of such an infamous event should not be recreated.
Arrayed against them, in favour of rebuilding the church, are the great and good of Germany from Chancellor Merkel down.
"This is one of the most extraordinary church buildings from the baroque era, and it is at the same time the most controversial place. We are confronted with the ambiguities of German history here much more directly than in any other place in the country," says Prof Dr Wolfgang Huber, a former bishop of Berlin-Brandenburg and president of the committee in charge of the reconstruction.
"It is for me a very important place for the work of peace and reconciliation," he says.
He wants the church to show how new, hopeful buildings can rise from the dust. Inside, there would be exhibitions about Germany's past."
www.bbc.com/news/magazine-29141925 How should Germany deal with its past?
Would the rebuild be a sign of evil or hope?
What do you think?
Image:
cdn.yjc.ir/files/fa/news/1393/5/18/2497383_972.jpg