The monument, located on the wide eastern plateau of the Central Station in Zagreb, was conceived as a permanent reminder by fragmenting unquestionable facts and testimonies. This location carries the memory of a traditional dynamic place of movement and travel on the one hand, and on the other it evokes the theme of the Holocaust, the unacceptable abyss of civilization. Namely, during 1941 and 1942, a black locomotive, the so-called Katica, took future prisoners from the railway station in Koprivnica to the concentration camp in closed wagons. That locomotive is a silent witness of Ustasha terror.
The new articulation of a wide, currently undefined space was achieved by the integration of two thematically opposed units (memorial square and park). The image of this today's inconspicuous transitory place has been transformed into a spatial layout that interweaves monumental architecture with elements of urban design and greenery. This layout was designed in accordance with the expected functional-spatial restructuring of the future railway line - station corridor (southeast corner of Zeleni potkovičje).
The mentioned motifs are integrated into their surroundings through a meaningful dialogue and spatial interdependence. A concept that separates itself from the direct, metaphorically literal design of the monument determines the approach to the subject and the place. This concept does not require a dominant and expressive monument-artifact - a single representation that is too often exposed as an outdated and artistically questionable achievement of dubious value.
The solution is offered through an oxymoronic dialogue of opposing themes and their existential contradictions of existence and disappearance, light and darkness, good and evil. This dichotomy is expressed in a transcendental language and a contemporary sensibility that radiates a permanent warning of the tragic experience of civilization. This approach results in a dignified, "functional" memorial environment that requires an organized historical presentation and daily maintenance appropriate to the importance of the memorial area.
Such a location must always arouse interest and present a harmonious urban landscape. In this way, her convincing and grounded ambience functions completely differently from an isolated, contemplative landscape or land art interpretation.
This place and this project are a surprise that invites everyone to stop and take a moment of silence in the midst of the bustling city bustle. In contrast to the busy rhythm of its wider surroundings, the monument is a call to conscience in our personal and collective daily lives. Not only knowledge is assumed here, but also insight.
