The educational
collection “De Memoria” was produced by
the work Memoria Abierta carries out to build a social
memory of State terrorism.
“De Memoria” was developed with the support
of the Secretary of Education of the Autonomous City
of Buenos Aires. It is composed of three
volumes, which together cover the years that preceded
the coup d’etat of March 24th, 1976, the period
of State terrorism, and the years of the democratic
reopening.
Each volume is composed of a selection of oral testimonies,
photographs, State documents, journalistic articles,
audiovisual sources, and explanatory texts to facilitate
the comprehension of the main events and phenomena
that shaped each time period.
The historic sources selection is the product of
the research and compilation carried out by Memoria
Abierta as well as the contribution of other people
and archives pertaining to the Human Rights movement
that collaborated in this task. The fragments of testimonies
presented in the CDs pertain to the heritage produced
by Memoria Abierta’s Oral Archive. This Archive
contains, at present, more than 400 audiovisual testimonies
given by a diverse range of protagonists of the period.
It is important to clarify that the collection is
the result of a selection of testimonies and sources,
and does not attempt to represent the totality of
possible perspectives. For this reason it is probable
that there are voices and experiences that are not
widely represented.
Nonetheless, in accordance with the possibilities
that our Archive offers, we try to reflect a broad
range of social and individual experiences, political
perspectives and reflections. For this reason we believe
that the documentary collection assembled is representative
of the diverse viewpoints and experiences that our
recent past and its consequences have to offer.
It is also fundamental to note that the themes covered
by this collection refer to the most tragic period
of Argentina’s history and the interpretations
of this period are today the subject of important
debates in the academic sphere, in the Human Rights
movement, and in society in general.
The collection was conceived with the objective of
sharing the heritage of the archives with Argentine
society in order to build a social memory regarding
that period, to consolidate a democratic political
culture, and to prevent all authoritarianism’s
forms in the future. For that purpose, “De Memoria”
proposes to shed light on those periods that have
had less presence in the educational realm and in
the mass media, encouraging, increasing and incorporating
new protagonist into the debate in a way that favours
the transmission of these experiences to new generations.
Volume
1: "The Springtime of Peoples: The
political and social mobilization of the
early seventies" |
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This volume
analyses, approximately, the period of
the late fifties through the mid-seventies.
In six chapters it addresses the principle
characteristics of the cultural renovation
and the social and political mobilization
that characterized those years:
A) Youth, Dictators, and Limited Democracies.
B) Cultural Renovation: The generation
of the 60’s.
C) The Commitment: Political and social
militancy in the 60’s and 70’s.
D) “The Camporist Spring”:
Peronism, from proscription to power.
E) Conflicts and Debates: Political and
economic problems during the third Peronist
government.
F) Into the Darkness: The advance of the
repressive forces. |
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Volume
2: "March 24th, 1976: the coup d’etat
and State terrorism" |
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This volume examines
the period beginning with the moments
immediately preceding the coup d’etat
through the early 80’s, approximately.
It addresses the repressive regimen implemented
by the last military dictatorship and
at the same times recuperates some forms
of individual and collective resistance
that emerged from within civil society.
A) An expected Coup: The intensification
of the crisis and the different expectations
regarding the military advance.
B) March 24th, 1976: The coup d’etat
and the collapse of the Republic.
C) The Illegal Repressive System: The
planning and execution of State terrorism.
D) Terror and Resistance: The options
of a society riveted by fear.
E) Epilogue: The past, present, and future
of a living history. |
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Volume
3: "1983: The democratic transition
and the path towards justice"
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This
volume addresses the period from the democratic
reopening until the present. It focuses
on the long process of the search for
Justice in relation to the human rights
violations that occurred during the last
military dictatorship.
A) The Crisis of the Military Dictatorship
and the Search for Legitimacy.
B) “With Democracy One Eats, Cures,
and Educates”: The labour of democracy.
C) “I Didn’t Know Anything”:
Argentine society facing the acknowledgement
of the horror.
D) “Never Again”: The report
of the National Commission on the Disappearance
of People and the Trial of the Military
Juntas.
E) Epilogue for an Open Ending: Truth,
Justice, and Memory. |
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We invite you to view and spread
the collection. It is available in the office of Memoria
Abierta. For further information contact us via telephone,
4951-4870 or via email:
[email protected]. |