Why do European museums and memory sites use such different ways to show, hide or explain political violence and its perpetrators? How do museums and memory sites communicate difficult pasts? This lecture explores how different post-dictatorial and transitional contexts shape the representation of political violence, perpetration and responsibility. Through examples from Germany, the Czech Republic and Spain, it asks why some memory sites make perpetrators and institutions visible, while others fragment, displace or silence them. Focusing on the artistic, spatial and exhibition languages used to represent difficult histories, the lecture reflects on what these choices reveal about public memory, historical responsibility and the legacies of political violence in Europe.
Lecture is given by Lurdes Valls-Crespo from the Faculty of Arts, CU.