Memorial

Statue in Peru of circles of pebbles in the middle of park with hunched figure in centre

Peru: The Battlefield of Memories

By Javier Lizarzaburu 24 August 2021

There is no monument more contested in Lima than El Ojo que Llora (The Eye That Cries). Almost from the beginning it has been opposed and vandalized. A few years ago, the serenity and beauty of the area, in one of the main parks in the city, was compromised when… Read More

#144

Valley of the Fallen in Madrid

Spain

By Jade

The Valley of the Fallen in Madrid was built in the 1940s by order of dictator Francisco Franco and, was in part, built by forced labour from political prisoners. Its aim was to be a mausoleum for victims of the Civil War from the Francoist side but at the end… Read More

#101

Monument to Absence in Mexico City

Mexico

By Jade

The Monument to Absence commemorates the 1968 Tlatelolco Massacre when governmentforces opened fire on a student protest at Mexico City’s Plaza de las Tres Culturas (Square of theThree Cultures). The monument was created in collaboration with the Executive Commission forAttention to Victims (CEAV) and the University Cultural Centre Tlatelolco (CCUT). Read More

Section of the National Stadium of Chilie in Santiago
#29

The Stands of Dignity and Escotilla 8 in Santiago

Chile

By Jade

Following the military coup against Salvador Allende in September 1973, the Chilean Armed Forces transformed the former stadium of Estadio Nacional Julio Martínez Prádanos into the country’s largest detention centre for political prisoners, where abuse was rife. Following the transition to democracy, the Estadio Nacional possessed a complicated status functioning… Read More

An Archival image of the Coolela Battlefield Memorial
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Coolela Battlefield Memorial in Mandlakazi (Manjacaze)

Mozambique

By Contested Histories Initiative

This memorial commemorates the 1895 Battle of Coolela, fought in Mozambique between the Portuguese colonial administration and their African allies, and the Gaza Empire led by Emperor Ngungunyane. The monument was originally created by the Portuguese administration in the late 1890s to celebrate their victory and conquest and to honour… Read More

The Memorial to Comfort Women, with a woman sitting down, covered in fresh flowers with explanatory papers and plaques in front.
#224

Statue of Peace in Berlin

Germany

By Contested Histories Initiative May 2021

The ‘Statue of Peace’ in Berlin-Moabit commemorates ‘comfort women’, a euphemism for women who were sexually enslaved by the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II. The memorial urges historical justice and reconciliation. After its unveiling in September 2020, the installation drew criticism from Japanese officials. Although the Berlin-Mitte district… Read More

umn of Strength in San Francisco consists of three women grasping hands with their backs towards one another.
#205

‘Comfort Women’ Column of Strength in San Francisco, California

United States of America

By Contested Histories Initiative July 2021

In 2017, a civil society organisation unveiled a San Francisco monument dedicated to the “comfort women,” women compelled to provide sexual services for the Japanese military during World War II. The monument became the centre of an international conflict, with both passionate supporters and fierce critics of the monument and… Read More

Two whales, as part of the Australia cook landing sculptures.
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Captain Cook Landing Sculptures in Botany Bay, Sydney

Australia

By Contested Histories Initiative July 2021

Captain James Cook’s landing site at Kamay Botany Bay has been a focus of public debate, contestation, commemoration, celebration, and mourning in Australia since the 1860s. The recent controversies over the commemoration of the 250th anniversary of Cook’s landing presented a new opportunity for multi-stakeholder discussions to take place. Focused… Read More

Stone memorial in Jedwabne dedicated to murdered Jews with Hebrew inscription and pebbles on top
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Jedwabne Pogrom Memorial in Jedwabne

Poland

By Contested Histories Initiative July 2021

The Jedwabne pogrom memorial was renewed in 2001, following controversies surrounding who the perpetrators of the massacre were. This case study explores moral questions over the commemoration and memory of perpetrators, Poland’s responsibility for the slaughter, and how tragic events such as historical pogroms should be commemorated in the contemporary… Read More

Statue in Peru of circles of pebbles in the middle of park with hunched figure in centre.
#123

The Eye that Cries Memorial in Lima

Peru

By Contested Histories Initiative May 2021

The Eye that Cries commemorates all victims of Peru’s two-decade-long internal conflict, regardless of political affiliation. In 2006, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights held in the Miguel Castro-Castro Prison v. Peru case that the names of 42 murdered Shining Path members, widely considered to be perpetrators in the conflict,… Read More