Contested Memories and the (Re)Construction of Violent Pasts in the Basque Country: A Critical Examination of the Memorial Centre for the Victims of Terrorism in Vitoria-Gasteiz

Abstract

The Memorial Centre for the Victims of Terrorism opened its doors in Vitoria-Gasteiz in 2021. The inauguration of this polemical memorial space not only illustrates the wider ‘battle of narratives’ that is being fought in Spain/the Basque Country particularly since ETA announced a permanent ceasefire in 2011, but also reveals the influential role of public institutions in processes of memorialisation. The analysis of the representation of conflict in memorials enables us to comprehend how particular public ‘truths’ and ways of remembering are fostered as well as to critically enquire into the present interests of particular actors. This chapter analyses the role of exhibition panels and audio-visual materials as well as the strategic employment of silence in this official (re)construction of the past. As a space for remembering (and forgetting), the memorial museum curates conflicts by inscribing actors with a particular status and proposing particular security practices. The chapter concludes with a reflection on counter-memories and their potential to disrupt official discourses and create alternative memories that enable social change.