Memory Loops – Contemporary memories of the Nazi Terror in Munich 1933-1945

An art project by Michaela Melián. Telephone technology and iPhone App provided by tomis GmbH & Co. KG

Memory Loops App has made it possible to remember the victims of the Nazi State in a completely new way. This application contains a selection of soundtracks based on the voices of the original witnesses that were recorded in German and English for Michaela Melián‘s audio artwork. These audio files can be heard on the sites where the events took place – at specific Points of Interest within the city of Munich – thereby recalling the victims all the more vividly.
You can listen to these collages of voices and music, locate them on the map or navigate to individual destinations via GPS.

In all, there are sixty-six soundtracks to listen to, linked to sixty Points of Interest around Munich, which recall events during the Nazi regime, and are available on the Memory Loop App. They represent a selection taken from a total of 300 German and 175 English audio collages by the artist Michaela Melián. She was awarded first prize in the art competition ‘Victims of National Socialism: New Forms of Remembering and Remembrance’ held by the Bavarian State Capital of Munich. The memoryloops.net website plays a central role in her artwork, which is distinguished especially by its modern take on remembrance. Memory Loops has been created in cooperation with the Bavarian Broadcasting Corporation/Radio Play and Media Art Department.

The soundtracks are based on the voices of victims of Nazi regime, and of historical and contemporary witnesses. Their reports have been transcribed and read by actresses and actors, with the historical documents being read by children, and their voices have been embedded in an original musical composition. This audio artwork represents a novel and contemporary form of remembrance, as a new kind of monument that has no specific location but can be accessed at any time, both singly and throughout the city of Munich. The Memory Loops are thereby spread over the whole city like a net.

You can listen to the audio collages and list the corresponding locations alphabetically as well as according to the distance from your current position. The locations are shown on the map of the city and you can use the zoom function to enlarge the detail. You can access the sound files from the lists and from the map. The GPS enabled iPhone can establish your current location and navigate you directly to the Point of Interest that you are seeking.

Contents:
- View of the map of Munich showing the Memory Loops, with a zoom function
- 66 sound files to listen to, arranged in alphabetical order and in order of closeness to your current location, which is shown on the map
- Memory function for your current sound file
- GPS-tracking and routing to a particular Memory Loop location
- General information about the Memory Loops project