The museum will seek to explain the history of the Third Reich and to spell out the Nazis' crimes against humanity, said the head of the German Holocaust Museum Foundation, Hans-Jürgen Hässler, an archeologist. The foundation's supporters include Nobel Prize laureate Günter Grass and former German Justice Minister Hertha Däubler-Gmelin.

Germany's biggest memorial for the six million European Jews killed by the Nazis, the Holocaust Memorial in Berlin, was completed in 2004.

It consists of 2,711 concrete slabs set out near the city's Brandenburg Gate and has become a major tourist attraction.

While Hassler said that the museum could open within four to five years, von Gerkan cautioned that it was all a question of financial support.

Money is an issue

"This project cannot happen overnight," the 71-year old said. "We first need its supporters to find the necessary funding."

The museum is expected to be built at the Russian Pavilion of the old Leipzig fairgrounds. Von Gerkan has also designed the new Leipzig fairgrounds and German luxury car maker Porsche's client service center in the city.

His firm, Gerkan, Marg and Partner (GMP), also designed Berlin's new central train station. He is also involved in several major projects in China, including planning for a new city near Shanghai. GMP is working on several soccer stadiums for the World Cup 2010 in South Africa as well.