Memory Days '17

Published on 23 November 2017

On 16 to 23 November 2017 at the National Historical Museum took place the 2nd edition of MEMORY DAYS, with the known motto "Memory as a Mission". The aim of the project was to stimulate public dialogue in dealing with Albania's dictatorial past. Our motivation to continue working on this subject is reinforced by the findings of an OSCE survey published at the end of 2016, which stated that a large part of the Albanian society had a positive perception about the communist regime and the political leaders of that time. MEMORY DAYS was organized by the Institute for Democracy, Media & Culture (IDMC) in partnership with Konrad Adenauer Foundation (KAS).

Among the various activities that took place this year:

The international conference "Between Apathy and Nostalgia: Public and Private Recollections of Communism in Contemporary Albania", 17‒18 November
A study trip to sites of memory, 19 November
"Law and Justice" symposium, 20 November
Presentation of research works on the dictatorship, 21 November
Public reading of "Musine Kokalari file", 21 November
Youth Forum on Oral History, 22 November
Awarding of the "Ask Your Grandparents 2" competition winners, 23 November
"Propaganda During the Dictatorship" exhibition was open during MEMORY DAYS

Summary

1st Day, 16 November 2017: Opening Ceremony
2nd‒3rd Days, 17‒18 November 2017: International Conference
6th Day, 21 November 2017: Book Presentation, Musine Kokalari
- Public Reading of Sigurimi's File on Musine Kokalari
7th Day, 22 November 2017: Oral History
8th Day, 23 November 2017: "Ask Your Grandparents 2" Competition Winners
- Prizes
Organizers
Partners

1st Day, 16 November 2017: Opening Ceremony

8 days of activities focusing on the need of Albanian society to confront its past

This edition of Memory Days opened with the presentation of the exhibition "Propaganda during the Dictatorship" by the IDMC director Dr. Jonila Godole at the Dictatorship Exhibition Pavilion in the National Museum. The exhibition was prepared by Birsejda Lala, a doctoral student sponsored by the 2017 IDMC Scholar Program. The director of KAS Walter Glos also presented an opening speech. The second edition of "Memory Days" was greeted by Bernd Borchardt, Ambassador of OSCE Presence in Albania; Susanne Schütz, Ambassador of German Embassy in Tirana; Hildigund Neubert, Former Commissioner for STASI files in Thüringen; and by Dr. Sami Repishti, former political persecuted.

2nd‒3rd Days, 17‒18 November 2017: International Conference

The different ways communism is remembered and represented both in public and in private discourse were explored and discussed on a scientific in the 2-day international conference "Between Apathy and Nostalgia". Investigating who remembers what, how and when, the conference aimed at providing both a comprehensive and nuanced overview of memory of communism in Albania. Furthermore, Local researchers had the opportunity to learn about foreign experience with communist remembrance from two speeches presented by Daniela Koleva and Cristian Vasile from Bulgaria and Romania, respectively. In this conference, the panel discussions brought together 30 Albanian and non-Albanian scholars and provided an opportunity to compare the Albanian case with other Eastern Europe countries.

According to the executive director of IDMC, Dr. Jonila Godole, "nostalgia, although perceived lightly in everyday life in Albania, makes it indispensable to face the truth about the past". She cited examples of young people who, in her work as a university professor and the director of IDMC, often subconsciously recalled only the positive memories about Communism from their families and lacked the true understanding of the ruling dictatorship at the time. Walter Glos, the director of KAS, introduced an expert from Germany, Hildigund Neubert, who previously served as a commissioner for STASI documents. He praised the recent developments about the process of remembering in Albania, and the establishment of the Authority for the Opening of Communist-era Files.

On her part, Mrs. Neubert talked about the experience Germany had gained from facing its past.

"History does not heal old wounds, but the process in itself is very important for the future; if you know your past you can build a safer future. This is the reason why the Communists falsified history, because they thought that by changing the facts they would be in command of the present. Europe has had a similar experience with Communism."

Neubert

A Bulgarian expert on the memories of Communism, Daniela Koleva, viewed nostalgia as a form of social critique. "By idealizing about the past we identify the defects in the present," said Mrs. Koleva, noting that post-Socialist nostalgia is not about going back to the old system. Prof. Dr. Afrim Krasniqi considered nostalgia in Albania's case resulted from the lack of information about the past rather than from a critical examination of the present.

As for Romania's case, Dr. Cristian Vasile, outlined the immense work that special commissions in the country had carried out on the subject of remembrance over the years. He said they had also faced many difficulties, in particular some concerning religious-related crimes. Mr. Vasile admitted that politics oftentimes tries "to instrumentalize the process for political purposes", but he remained optimistic that Romania would persevere in its attempt to condemn Communist crimes.

Elidor Mëhilli, an historian, shared his experience of accessing the dictatorship-era archives, including the archives of at least six different countries worldwide.

"To think that these archives hold the truth is simply inaccurate. Now we know that Communism was built on lies, and the archives normally will contain inaccuracies or lies. Therefore, our approach to studying the past should not be based on mystifying the dictatorship."

Mëhilli

Idrit Idrizi's talk on Communism typology in present-day Albania aroused interest among the conference participants.

"The demonization and glorification of the Communism period could be classified into three narrative typologies: Life under Communism was normal, life under Communism was terrifying, and Communism achieved superior outcomes. All three depend on the time the people were born, their sympathies to the system and their persecution by the State Security."

Idrizi

6th Day, 21 November 2017: Book Presentation, Musine Kokalari

IDMC brings textbook supplementary materials for school students to learn more about communism history

During the first half of Day 6, the organizers offered the possibility to actors working in the field of memory in Albania and abroad to present their scientific works about the dictatorship. The books "From Stalin to Mao: Albania and the Socialist World" by Elidor Mëhilli; "Communism through archival documents", a pedagogical tool for teachers by IDMC; and the "Encyclopaedic Dictionary of Victims of Communist Terror", Vol. VI, by ISKK were presented.

Public Reading of Sigurimi's File on Musine Kokalari

During the evening, IDMC in cooperation with the Musine Kokalari Institute and AIDSSH organized the first public reading of Musine Kokalari's file in commemoration of Musine Kokalari, her resistance and her work.

7th Day, 22 November 2017: Oral History

Ora history, a valuable source for young people to understand communism

On day 7 of MEMORY DAYS, a Youth Forum on ORAL HISTORY was organized by the OSCE presence in Albania. This session aimed at contributing to the debate about oral testimony and its importance in the revision of history textbooks. The panelists presented their work and views on the subject. Fabian Kati presented his films and projects on the topic. Miran Butka from ISKK introduced "Zërat e kujtesës" ("Memory Voices") run by the Institute. Valbona Bezati talked about the "Unë dëshmoj" ("I Testify") project initiated by IDMC. Fatmiroshe Xhemalaj addressed the importance of oral history and textbook revisions.

8th Day, 23 November 2017: "Ask Your Grandparents 2" Competition Winners

"Ask Your Grandparents 2" competition concludes "MEMORY DAYS" with announcement of the winners among 250 young competitors across Albania

The Institute for Democracy, Media & Culture (IDMC) in collaboration with Albania's Association of Teachers of History "Youth & History" announced the winners of the "Ask Your Grandparents 2" multimedia competition. The ceremony marked the successful closure of the second edition of the eight-day "MEMORY DAYS" event. Over 250 young people from across Albania applied in this competition with over 100 works, but only 33 young people managed to be awarded prizes thanks to their teamwork. After about two months of competition, the jury decided to reward 8 main prizes (a consolation price, a social network price, 3 third prizes, 2 second prizes and 1 first prize).

The ceremony was greeted by IDMC director, Jonila Godole, who greatly appreciated the commitment of young people in this competition, emphasizing that “everyone was a winner, as through this participation they have been able to reflect on the past, what exactly has been the focus of this organization."

The large turnout was also praised by the director of German Konrad Adenauer Foundation in Albania, Walter Glos, which has supported the competition since its inception. He added that raising awareness and reflection of young people on the past is also a priority for KAS, so it will continue to support this competition further. This year's competition was hailed from Tel Aviv (Israel) by Erlisa Kulla, who was the winner of the previous edition.

The jury that evaluated the works consisted of honorable personalities from media, science and culture, such as Ilva Tare, a journalist for more than 20 years, leading the "Tonight" show in Ora News TV; Ylljet Aliçka, author and dedicated lecturer at the Academy of Arts, with a long experience in cinematography, as well as Fatmiroshe Xhemalaj, a history expert and EUROCLIO ambassador (European Association of History Educators) in Albania. In her greeting, she encouraged young people to continue this reflection initiative as "only by knowing the past can we understand the present". Aliçka said he had gladly followed all the works of the participants, while Tare said she was impressed and confident in the younger generation's future.

Prizes

Multimedia entry "I am..." won IDMC jury's first prize, a work by Elios Shuli, Marta Gështenja, Renis Lami, Gentian Kojeli and Eri Alla from "Sami Frashëri" high school in Tirana. "I am..." was applauded by more than 200 attendees in the room. Winners of the first prize will already have the opportunity of a trip to Germany to visit sites of memory there, while the IDMC director promised that the winning work would also be displayed to the German public. The two second places will win a study trip to the sites of memory in Albania, to be organized by IDMC, and book discount coupons. The three third places and the social network prize will join the study trip to Albania, along with the winners of the consolation prize, as well as get book coupons from Bukinist.al.

The winners were awarded prizes for the following entries:

1st Place

Multimedia entry: "I Am…"