Monuments are objects that have been placed in visible places in public space to pay tribute to the deserved, to preserve the memory of particularly important events, or to restore the memory of the forgotten. Sometimes, however, they become an element of conscious manipulation and are meant to change the way people perceive the past.
Their long-term presence in the public space allows us to see how the importance of what a monument commemorates changes over the years. This makes monuments an important indicator of changes in collective memory. Looking at their history - from the circumstances of their creation to their later fate - they can be used to learn and understand the history of a country.
To bring closer the knowledge about the ways in which monuments can be used to learn about history and therefore to better understand the role of memory in shaping identity and values is the aim of the project Monuments of Remembrance 1918-2018.
The project Monuments of Remembrance 1918-2018 is an international educational project, implemented in Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia and Romania by five independent civil society organisations, which are working on a daily basis to promote knowledge about the past and to promote historical and civic education:
- Krzyżowa Foundation for Mutual Understanding in Europe (Poland),
- Paweł Włodkowic Institute (Poland),
- Centrum pro dokumentaci totalitnich rezimu, z.s. (Czech Republic),
- Post Bellum SK (Slovakia),
- Fundatia Academia Civica (Romania).
Among participants of the project were school students, scientists, experts in the field of public history, historical and civic education and teachers from Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia and Romania.
As part of the project, the website www.monuments-remembrance.eu was created, which contains information on 300 selected monuments from the four countries mentioned above. Their descriptions have been specially prepared to highlight not only what the monuments depict, but how their significance has changed over the years.
On www.monuments-remembrance.eu you can also find a guidebook with more information on how monuments are used to tell about the past (or a certain version of it) and the main methodological guidelines used to prepare descriptions of the monuments during the project. This publication also contains guidelines on how to use monuments in the process of historical education, for which purpose special scenarios have been developed, and recommendations on how to interpret monuments, including those that may lead to conflicts.
The Monuments of Remembrance 1918-2018 project was implemented from 31 August 2018 to 31 January 2020 in Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia and Romania under the Europe for Citizens programme (strand: European Remembrance).
Below you will find a detailed course of the subsequent stages of its implementation.
Five events have been carried out as a part of this project:
