Places of Memory- Fascism, Colonialism and Slavery

Zoeanna Upadhyay

Why do countries like Japan, Italy and Germany with their former Militarist, Fascist and Nazi regimes keep monuments of their past alive? Wouldn't it be better to forget histories of oppression? Architecture, by default keeps memory alive, whether those be individual or collective. These difficult memories of the past are kept alive to-

1. Honor the individual memories of the people who died- so that their families can mourn the individual.

2. So that communities can collectively mourn the victims; for example at the Fosse Ardeatine memorial in Rome- Romans, Italians, Jews, Germans etc. would feel different connections to different communities at the site.

3. So that “it should never happen again”- a recurring theme in the memorials is the experience of trying to invoke horror, grief and empathy in order to humanize the victims and ensure that such an event happens again.

4. To have the visitor question life experiences: Where is a similar situation being lived now? What would you do if you were in that situation? What should be done in order to prevent such a situation happening again? “The design should aim to create experiences that help create better citizens”[1]

5. To serve as a site for citizen engagement and allow us to build a culture of respect for fundamental human rights and dignity.

In countries like Australia, the USA and Canada, -countries with colonial and slavery pasts, an important aspect of memorials is to promote healing and reconciliation with their first nations people by giving them recognition. This is not just from a moral standpoint but also to establish a mutually affirmable social/political order. It is important to ensure that these communities have a place, both historically and culturally as a part of their collective identity. Building Memorials for these people represents taking responsibility for the past and increasing collective awareness.

In Nantes, the memorial to abolition of slavery is is an effort to confront the past and celebrate the resistance. It attempts to engage the public and help the nation work through collective trauma. Similarly, in the USA, memorials like the ‘Ark of Return’ in the UN headquarters of New York and Gadsden’s Wharf in South Carolina addressing the issues of Slavery and remembering the victims who suffered.

Memorial to the abolition of slavery. Source-www.gsd.harvard.edu

In most cities, contested pasts are dealt with in three ways-

1. Through a memorial site, closely linked to the landscape. This is usually a grave or something symbolic that represents the people who suffered. This is usually designed to be ‘phenomenological’- to help the visitor experience the tragedy and empathize with the victims. In Hiroshima the preservation of the Genbaku dome invokes a sense of horror at the destruction inflicted by humankind. In Rome, the Fosse Ardeatine Memorial uses light and shadows to convey feelings of darkness and hope.

2. A Museum containing the history and documentation of the ‘event’ to be remembered. In Hiroshima this refers to the dropping of the atom bomb, in Berlin, the Museum Libeskind documents the history of Jews in the country.

3. Having a national Remembrance day to commemorate the people who died. In Hiroshima, A peace Memorial ceremony is held on 6th August in memory of the victims of the a-bomb. In Italy, 27th January is celebrated as Holocaust Rememberance day.

Fig 2-Fosse Ardeatine Memorial, Rome-tombs and a slit of light symbolizing hope. Source-http://www.mausoleofosseardeatine.it

Fig 3-Genbaku Dome, Hiroshima-preserved from the day of the bomb. Author-Giovanni Boccardi Source-whc.unesco.org/en/documents/111446

Most memorial sites are heavily embedded into the fabric of the urban landscape. They are powerful and emotionally engaging because they are built at the actual site of the event. The act of being at the place itself evokes memories and stories, helping us feel a deeper connection to the past. Memories are also inscribed into the landscape by integrating them into daily life. One way in which this is done, for example is by creating active engagement with the public. In Rome, you can actually walk through the Fosse Ardeatine memorial and see the graves of the people buried there. In Hiroshima, the cenotaph is built keeping in mind ancient burial traditions in Japan, which builds a strong connection between the site and the people.

References

1. Brett, S., Bickford, L., Sevcenko, L., & Rios, M. (2007). Memorialization and democracy: State policy and civic action, The Report of The International Conference of Memorialization and Democracy, June 20-27 2007, Santiago, Chile.

2. Marcello, F. (2017). Rome remembers fascism: the monument to the Fosse Ardeatine massacre as immersive historical experience, Rethinking History, 21:1, 67-90, DOI: 10.1080/13642529.2016.1270566

3. Marcello, F., 2020, 'Memory 1,2,3,4 and 5', Learning Material on Canvas, Swinburne University of Technology, 29th of March 2020

4. Halbwachs, M., & Coser, L. A. (1992). The reconstruction of the past. In On Collective Memory (Heritage of Sociology Series) ( pp. 46–52). University of Chicago Press. https://swinburne.instructure.com/courses/34249/files/11339868?module_item_id=1946404