Why remember?
This question has been the subject of much thought by the creators of the memorial - as it needs to be. After all, it’s not as if we’re remembering a pleasant day at the beach, in this case.
“Remembering is a healthy exercise”, writes Memorial Foundation President Ferruccio de Bortoli. “It opens hearts and minds, it allows us to look at the contemporary world with fewer prejudices and less ambiguity. Memory protects us from ideological pressures, from the waves of hate and suspicion. Memory is the cultural vaccine that makes us immune to the germs of anti-Semitism and racism.”
In order to achieve this purpose, events must be recalled in a certain way, according to their gravity - and from a certain perspective. This is why the place is described as “not a museum”. It does not aim to provide information “objectively”, or present the events as “in the past.” It presents them through first-person testimony, and attempts to recreate for visitors some aspects of the experience of the deportation.
It is a powerful place, for history that needs a powerful response today.