The final slab was put in place at Berlin’s Holocaust Memorial on 15 December, marking the official end of construction work.

Designed by American architect Peter Eisenman, the memorial’s construction was approved by German parliament more than 15 years ago but was surrounded by controversy from the outset.

Construction was delayed by a series of debates over the design and the location and also that the company supplying anti-graffiti coating for the slabs had been associated with the production of the poisonous gas used in Nazi concentration camps.

The memorial – to commemorate the millions of Jews killed in the Holocaust – will be inaugurated next year and is situated in the middle of Berlin, between the Brandenburg Gate and the site of Adolf Hitler’s bunker.

The memorial will be accompanied by an information centre, situated underground. Details: www.holocaust-mahnmal.de