Remembering without confronting : memorialization as a reparation without coming to terms with the past. Case study: Ulucanlar Prison Museum

Abstract

The aim of the present study is to analyze Ulucanlar Prison Museum, as an example of the memorial museum genre, and as a memorialization attempt of an era which was marked with a confrontation discourse in Turkey. The data collected from the interviews conducted with the ex-prisoners and museum visitors as well as the semiological reading of the museum have been analyzed with multi-modal ethnography in the light of the historical-political context of Turkey, Collective Memory Theory and Transitional Justice theory with the aim of revealing the politics surrounding the museum; its contribution to individual healing and recognition as a symbolic reparation; promotion of the human rights and raising awareness on their violations; and transmitting the heritage of the past with the message Never again. Key words: collective memory, human rights, memorialization, confrontation.