Expert Committee including historians and art historians
In contrast to the current Hungarian government's practice, which is imbued with revisionist and nationalistic narratives of some imagined „heroes“ of Hungarian history who become carved in 19th century-style sculptures and erected almost „overnight“ without any public, scientific or expert consultation and debate, the Memory of Rape in Wartimes promises to be an excercise in the democratic awareness of how public memorials should be conceived and realised in the framework of a wide public discourse and acceptance.
During the preliminary phase of the project (currently) the commitee is searching for personal or family documents and inheritage (diaries, letters, notes, journals, interviews, any official documents or records, photos etc.), offering an insight into everyday life of the survivors of wartimes and revolutions of the 20th century. They would like to make them public and preserve them to recognise how armed conflicts changed the life of the civilians and men, women and children living in Budapest lived through violence that became part of their everyday lives.
Collecting and sharing local citizens’ personal memories + series of public debates
Our interest in the framework of the COST action in this case is (at least) twofold: not only is the topic newly raised in the Hungarian public discourse, but it also wants to exemplify a process when the realization of a memorial becomes traceable in public debates, in public lectures, in a transparent procedure of the applications and selection process of artists.
The project will be ongoing for the next 2 years. Our aim within the COST action is, to use the COST program to follow up this process (and to witness the methods and/or obstacles of this attempt for democratisation of public space) and provide visibility and international networks as well as support for this initiative.
Web Site
Besides the project's aim of counteracting authoritarian practices of commemoration, the project also has a strong digital presence: its webpage simultaneously functions as a surface for documenting the milestones of the projects as well as an archive that aims to collect witness testimonies, diaries, scientific analyses etc. In this sense, we would also be able to examine the relationship between analogue and digital memory-practices.
Urban space and trauma