The importance of engaging youth in remembering the past.
Challenges in Bosnia-Herzegovina and best practices from the Anne
Frank House
Laura Boerhout MA
International Department
Anne Frank House
www.annefrank.org
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Reflecting on remembrance
o Historian Gerda Lerner:
“In remembering wholly, without selective forgetting, one can fight the
systems of distortions and half-truths out of which sexism, classism,
racism and anti-semitism grow like poisonous weeds.”
o Philosopher Georges Santayana:
“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”
o Writer Margaret Atwood:
“The past belongs to those who claim it, and are willing to explore it, and
to infuse it with meaning for those who are alive today. “
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Overview presentation
o The case of post-conflict Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Historical background
- Present-day socio-political climate
- Public culture of remembrance
- Perception of youngsters
o Work of Anne Frank House
o Concept Memory Walk
-Films
-Workshop
- Follow-up
- Aims and skills
-Challenges and questions
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Sarajevo – April 6th 2012
Source: Photo taken by author
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Source:http://teaspoon-of-salt.tumblr.com/post/30505960638/fyeaheasterneurope-the-yugoslav-wars-the-very
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Post-conflict Bosnia and Herzegovina
Source: http://www.ufva.org/showcase/delegations/2011/bosnia
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“Commemorative arena”
Artists
Victims and
descendants
Politicians
Veterans
Human
rights
activists
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Public culture of remembrance
Srebrenica July 11th
Source: photos taken by author
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My ideal monument?
Perceptions of Bosnian youngsters
Universalist and multi-ethnic
vs.
Ethnic exclusivity
Source: Photo taken by author
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Monument for “us”
“I’m definitely for it. I think that every new generation needs to know
what happened. Because it can happen to us again. (..) But we should
never go out of this country, we need to defend ourselves if we are
attacked again. We need to be careful of what’s happening. And we
cannot forgive, at least for now, because somebody killed 20 or 30 people
of your family. (...) I still think that we need to build monuments for future
generations to remind them that it is possible to have that experience
again.”
Source: interview by author.
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Monument for “all”
“Maybe that’s my main attitude towards those monuments. I think
they are supposed to give memory, give condolences, give something,
because the history and the books and the courts are going to record
what happened. (..) But not like: look what Serbs done to us? But so
you can show that you are feeling sorry for what happened there.
Because you have seen how far the human stupidity goes, you know.
And we are like, we have to prove that in ‘90s we so failed the
humanity test. So failed it.. Now we are supposed to show that we are
feeling sorry for the victims, no matter who they are and what they
were, because they were killed in a way that it wasn’t following the
rules of war or things like that. And none of the monuments is
actually showing that.”
Source: Interview by author.
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No monument at all
“Maybe we should just forget it, at least a little bit, and turn ourselves to the
future, towards development of the economy, towards our development
of the country. And not to use every daily coffee to talk about the war and
talk about the events that happened 15 years ago.”
Source: Interview by author.
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Importance of “opening up”
“I’ve never heard testimony from a Serb who suffered in the war. Until now, I
thought of Serbs only as war crime perpetrators. But now I can see that –
as one of the detainees in this film said – there are two kinds of people,
those who suffer and those who make other people suffer. I completely
agree that those who make other people suffer are war crime
perpetrators, regardless of their [ethnicity] or ideology.”
Source: Institute of War and Peace Reporting.
Mission Anne Frank House
“To build up a future you have to know the past”
- Otto Frank
o Against racism, discrimination and anti-semitism
o Promoting equal human rights, freedom and democracy
o Remember – reflect – respond !
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‘Anne Frank - A History for Today’
o Travelling exhibitions – worldwide
o Since 1996: Over 1400 cities and 70 countries
o Peer-education: empowerment and leadership
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Innovative educational methods
o Graphic novel and film
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“Anne’s app for smartphone”
o “Reading and Writing”
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Free2Choose (Create)
Discussing the boundaries of freedom and conflicting human rights
o Freedom of speech
o Freedom of religion
o Freedom of the press
o Right to demonstrate
o Right to privacy
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Memory Walk
o Letting young people explore monuments in an
engaging and creative film workshop
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Memory Walk Berlin
January 2012
Book burning memorial
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ue9TzmhiNB0
The Missing house
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BIZYD1UAQt8
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Workshop
o Introduction exercises
o Reflection on the topic of remembrance
o Monument tour
o Research, filming and editing
o Discussing
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Possibilities for follow-up
o Public screening
o Website
o Community work
o Teacher training and manual
o Application smartphone
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Aims and skills
o Gaining awareness, knowledge and
understanding of the importance of
memoralization
o Reflection and critical thinking
o Creativity and teamwork
o Active citizenship and empowerment
o Sustainable network
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Memory Walk
o Roma and Sinti monument (Berlin January 2012)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dt8wVtOeJ78
o More information? Contact Laura Boerhout at l.boerhout@annefrank.nl
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