Many communities across the globe have erected memorials to commemorate major religious events that took place in their communities. One commonly celebrated religious event is the Holocaust. Holocaust is commemorated primarily across many parts of Europe and the United States to remember the dark ages of mass violence; a time when at least six million Jews were murdered by Nazi regime, its allies, and collaborators. Holocaust was, therefore, the immediate aftermath of World War II. The concept of memories and monuments has shifted since the immediate aftermath of World War II. While many people perceive memorials as a response to loss and death; and monuments more commemorative and celebratory in nature, there are several exceptions to these definitions. These exceptions are best depicted when considering traditional memorials and monuments; particularly those found in Poland and in New York.
Memorials and Monuments
Jewish traditions are characterized by domestic commemorative acts and artifacts. The best examples of the Jewish religious commemorative acts and artifacts are yortsayt candles, fast days, and tombstones, and the pinch of a Sabbath challah in form of burnt sacrifice aimed commemorating the destruction of the ancient temple (Young, 2010). Besides, Jews have larger communal and collective monuments and memorials, which include cemeteries, ghetto walls and remains of ancient synagogues, museums, and artifacts. In fact, Holocaust is the best example of Jewish historical markers of recent catastrophes (Young, 2010). Thus, Holocaust is more of a memorial than a monument because it is celebrated to commemorative the persecution of the six million Jews during Nazi regime.
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According to Bruggeman (2019), monuments are subsets of memorials. Thus, there are a variety of memorial books, memorial days, memorial sculptures, memorial activities, memorial festivals, and memorial museums. Monuments, on the other hand, may be in form of installations, material objects, and sculptures used to memorize a person, a set of events, or a community (Bruggeman, 2019). Therefore, a monument is always a type of a memorial. The most significant monuments in Eastern Europe were produced particularly as a result of interaction between Jewish communities and their surrounding cultures (Young, 2010). For example, the era marked by the 800 years of Jewish residence in Europe resulted in the development of extraordinary rich lifestyle among the Jews, and subsequently made Jewish culture and religious life dominate most parts of Europe (Young, 2010). Consequently, numerous memorials and monuments sprung in Poland, Estonia, Ukraine, Belarus, Latvia, and Lithuania. These memorials and monuments include the shrines to honor Hasidic rabbis and teachers, ruins of ancient synagogues, and killing fields from the Nazi era and Second World War (Young, 2010). Today, most of monuments and memorials have been recognized by the government and registered as part of national memorial register.
How the Conception of Memorials and Monuments Shifted Since the Immediate Aftermath of World War II until Now
The birth of the United States ushered into a new perception of commemoration. Immediately after the foundation of the United States, commemorative rituals and monuments became obsolete, leftovers from the monarchical days and superstitions (Eross, 2018). Leaders like George Washington believed that democracy had no monuments, and therefore, were reluctant to fund them. In summary, many Americans believed that “true memory” lay in the hearts of people, rather than in the pile of dead stones. However, following the aftermath of World War II, the people’s perception of memorials and monuments shifted. According to Eross (2018), commemoration is now a commonplace, deeply rooted in the nation’s cultural practices. The Americans started embracing traditional forms of commemoration and adopted new practices, such as remembering those who died in war. One good example that shows America’s new practices of commemoration is the installation of a monument to the fallen Columbia crew on Mars (Eross, 2018). This implies that the America’s commemorative practices have been expanded to include events that took place outside the planet earth.
However, scholars such as Savage (2019) argue that modern societies have invested heavily in memory sites, such as monuments, memorials, museums, historical places, and archives; and hence have ended up replacing real environments of memory. The term “real environments” is used here to refer to living memory, which was previously utilized in spontaneous nourishment of pre-modern societies (Savage, 2019). In this regard, Savage (2019) tries to assert that modern societies keep their memories in recorded form as opposed to pre-modern societies, which relied mainly on human ability to recall and was passed orally from generation to generation.
Thus, memorials and monuments are more displayed in the modern society than they were before the World War II. However, Savage (2019) argues that the traditional monuments have not disappeared, and instead they continue to be powerful form of commemoration despite losing their cultural appeal. Two phenomena inspired the “memory boom” in the United States. These are the emergence of the grip with the Holocaust in early 1970s, and the sudden success of Maya Lin’s Vietnam Veterans Memorial in 1982 (Savage, 2019). In summary, memorials and monuments have increasingly been transformed in the post-World War II as compared to the pre-modern society. For instance, memorials and monuments have changed from mere sculptural objects to complicated spaces, which usually have archival or museum functions.
Differences between Monuments and Memorials in Poland and Those in New York
New York and Poland are examples of places where any traveler would expect to find numerous monuments and memorials. A keen observer touring New York and Poland would acknowledge that the two regions are highly decorated with different iconic monuments and memorials, each made to commemorate either an influential diseased person or an historical tragic event. However, there are several striking differences between the monuments and memorials in Poland and those in New York.
The most striking difference is that while most of the New York monuments and memorials are designed specifically to commemorate the iconic heroes and heroic events of war, most of the Poland monuments and memorials are designed specifically to commemorate religious figures and religious events ( Bruggeman, 2019 ). New York monuments and memorials, such as Joan of Arc Monument, Jan Karski Statue in Tel Aviv University, and General Sherman Statue Central Park, were specifically designed to commemorate the America’s heroes of war, who sacrificed their lives to fight for the freedom of the rest of the Americans. Poland monuments and memorials, such as St. Annaberg Thingstatte, Jewish quarterin Poland, and Jewish Oswiecimin Poland, on the other hand, were designed specifically to commemorate the lives of religious martyrs who were killed due to their strong religious faith.
The monuments and memorials found in New York also capture the commemoration of scientific major discoveries and tragic events. The best example is the installation of a monument to commemorate the fallen Columbia crew on Mars. The Poland monuments and memorials, on the other hand, lack the inclusion of major scientific discoveries and events that happened in the region. Another observable difference between the monuments and memorials in New York and Poland is that while the New York monuments and memorials focus on the national cultural heritage, the Poland monuments and memorials focus mainly on individual rulers who made significant influence on the people’s lives. The Columbus Circle at 59 th Street and the Charging Bull locate in the Manhattan Financial District are the examples of monuments in New York designed to commemorate the America’s cultural heritage. Aleja Elvisa Presleya, on the other hand, is a Poland monument designed specifically to commemorate the King of Rock and Roll. Overall, the existing differences between the New York and the Poland monuments are best interpreted through analyzing what each of the monuments and memorials symbolizes.
How the Function of Remembering Has Changed Over Time
For the past two centuries, human beings have greatly expanded their commemorative practices. However, this does not mean that the function of remembering has also expanded. According to Savage (2019), the living memory was more nourished in the pre-modern societies than in the modern societies. For instance, the pre-modern societies relied deeply on human remembrance to pass on a piece of information from one generation to another. However, the human beings in the modern societies have their brains too much occupied by useful things, and are unable to store all memorial events in their brains. Thus, modern human beings have opted to store most of information in memory sites, such as archives, monuments, historic places, and museums.
Another significant change in the function of remembering is that while the ancient human beings relied mainly on collective memory, the modern human beings rely primarily on personal memory (Savage, 2019). In the past, human beings shared in family, or societal traditions. Today, remembering is majorly dependent on personal memory, and is highly selective. Personal memory is thus, an adaptive process of reconstructing the past, which is shaped by the present needs and contexts (Savage, 2019). Collective memory, on the other hand, is a product of social groups, which is highly shaped by the people’s evolving character and interests (Savage, 2019). In summary, the pre-modern society used its function of remembering mainly to preserve the important events that happened within the society, while the modern societies preserve historical events in written form, and largely use their function of remembering for preserving the newly learnt things.
How These Memorials and Monuments Can Provoke Productive and Intellectually Rigorous Discussion and Study
Memorials and monuments are increasingly becoming part of the modern society. Most scholars have directed their research on the monuments and memorials and the role they play in the society. Consequently, monuments and memorials have provoked productive and intellectually rigorous discussion and study. Eross (2018) outlines the role of memorials in promoting a new, multicultural national identity. In this regard, Eross (2018) asserts that memorials have been used by the society to initiate democratic transitions, and subsequently used to create peace and harmony in the society. The best example is the memorial in Kigali, Rwanda, which was designed to commemorate the Tutsi victims of the 1994 genocide (Eross, 2018). This memorial has been used to successfully restore peace in Rwanda, and hence has provoked national unity in the country.
Monuments and memorials have also been used in generating justice within the society. For example, the Holocaust memorial used to commemorate the persecution of the six million Jews raises a serious discussion on the importance of equality and recognition in the society. As the Jews celebrate the Holocaust, the government is reminded to set up a strong judicial system that ensures that those who are despised and mistreated in the society are accorded with their due justice. Monuments and memorials have also been used to trigger productive discussions in the field of science and research. The installation of a monument to the fallen Columbia crew on Mars not only encourages scientists to be cautious in their researches but also motivates them to advance their research in the solar system. Overall, memorials and monuments play a critical role in the modern society, and they have been used to provoke significant productive and intellectually rigorous discussion and study.
Conclusion
Monuments and memorials have played a crucial role in helping the society to keep its history alive for centuries. Jews, for example, have successfully used the memorials and monuments to remember the Holocaust, which was an immediate aftermath of the Second World War. However, the concept of monuments and memorials has shifted significantly since the aftermath of World War II; unlike the earlier perception of monuments and memorials, commemoration is now a commonplace, deeply rooted in the nation’s cultural practices. Thus, governments have recognized the importance of monuments and memorials in creating national unity, and subsequently have funded their construction and celebrations.
References
Bruggeman, S.C. (2019). Memorials and Monuments: The Inclusive Historian’s Handbook. Retrieved January 18, 2020; from https://inclusivehistorian.com/memorials-and-monuments/
Eross, A. (2018). Living memorial and frozen monuments: the role of social practice in memorial sites: Sciendo. 55 (3): 19-32. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/udi-2018-0002
Savage, K. (2019). History, Memory, and Monuments: An Overview of the Scholarly Literature on Commemoration. [Online]. Retrieved January 19, 2020; from https://www.nps.gov/parkhistory/resedu/savage.htm
Young, J. E. (2010). Monuments and Memorials: YIVO Encyclopedia of Jews in Eastern Europe . Retrieved January 18, 2020; from https://yivoencyclopedia.org/article.aspx/Monuments_and_Memorials .
