The Museum of Memory and Human Rights (in

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

: ''Museo de la Memoria y los Derechos Humanos'') is a

museum A museum is an institution dedicated to displaying or Preservation (library and archive), preserving culturally or scientifically significant objects. Many museums have exhibitions of these objects on public display, and some have private colle ...

Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile (), is the capital and largest city of Chile and one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is located in the country's central valley and is the center of the Santiago Metropolitan Regi ...

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

, which commemorates the victims of

human rights violations Human rights are universally recognized moral principles or norms that establish standards of human behavior and are often protected by both national and international laws. These rights are considered inherent and inalienable, meaning t ...

during the

military dictatorship A military dictatorship, or a military regime, is a type of dictatorship in which Power (social and political), power is held by one or more military officers. Military dictatorships are led by either a single military dictator, known as a Polit ...

led by

Augusto Pinochet Augusto José Ramón Pinochet Ugarte (25 November 1915 – 10 December 2006) was a Chilean military officer and politician who was the dictator of Military dictatorship of Chile, Chile from 1973 to 1990. From 1973 to 1981, he was the leader ...

between 1973 and 1990. It was inaugurated by then-president

Michelle Bachelet Verónica Michelle Bachelet Jeria (; born 29 September 1951) is a Chilean politician who served as President of Chile from 2006 to 2010 and again from 2014 to 2018, becoming the first woman to hold the presidency. She was re-elected in December ...

on January 11, 2010, as part of government's commemoration of the

bicentennial of Chile The Bicentennial of Chile () took place on September 18, 2010. The celebration commemorates the beginning of the Independence process in Chile, with the first Government Junta of Chile on September 18, 1810, and Chile's becoming a free and inde ...

History

In her speech on May 21, 2007, before the full Congress,

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

announced the construction of a memorial museum, and a month later she announced a public competition to select an architectural design for it. On August 28 of that year, it was announced that the winning project belonged to a group of Brazilian architects from the office "Estudio America", located in

São Paulo São Paulo (; ; Portuguese for 'Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul') is the capital of the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo, as well as the List of cities in Brazil by population, most populous city in Brazil, the List of largest cities in the ...

. In 2008, a contest to determine who would be in charge of the operation of the museum; "Árbol de Color S. A." was chosen. The first stone of the museum was laid on December 10, 2008, by Bachelet, who was herself a victim of torture during the dictatorship of Pinochet. The materials and documentation for the museum's collection were mostly provided by the organization Casa de la Memoria, whose donations arrived on June 16, 2009, at the

La Moneda Palace Palacio de La Moneda (, ''Palace of the Mint''), or simply La Moneda, is the seat of the president of the Republic of Chile. It also houses the offices of three cabinet ministers: Interior, General Secretariat of the Presidency, and General S ...

. Parallel to the construction of the museum, on December 3, 2009, the museum's board was formed, and on January 6, 2010, Romy Schmidt was appointed as its executive director. Bachelet inaugurated the museum on January 11, 2010, two months before the end of her term. The museum houses torture devices used during the Pinochet dictatorship, letters to family members by prisoners in detention centers, newspaper clippings, and testimony from survivors. The museum also includes a philosophical examination of human rights.Chile’s leading human rights museum: the Museo de la Memoria – Chile
/ref> Chilean popular icon and folksinger

Víctor Jara Víctor Lidio Jara Martínez (; 28 September 1932 – 16 September 1973) was a Chilean teacher, theatre director, theater director, poet, singer-songwriter and PCCh, Communist political activist. He developed Chilean theater by directing a bro ...

's last poem, ''

Estadio Chile es:Estadio is the spanish language word for Stadium A stadium (: stadiums or stadia) is a place or venue for (mostly) outdoor sports, concerts, or other events and consists of a field or stage completely or partially surrounded by a tiered s ...

'', written shortly before his death in the stadium during the 1973 coup, sprawls across the entrance to the museum. In 2013, the Foundation Museo de la Memoria and the

Inter-American Court of Human Rights The Inter-American Court of Human Rights (I/A Court H.R.) is an international court based in San José, Costa Rica. Together with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, it was formed by the American Convention on Human Rights, a human r ...

signed an agreement to established a network of institutions dedicated to this theme. The agreement was to include joint conferences and seminars, as well as interchange of officials, professional practices, research and publication. According to a 2021 study of the impact of the museum on visitors, "Chilean university students ho visit the museum subsequentlydisplay greater support for democratic institutions, are more likely to reject institutions associated with the repressive period, and are more supportive of restorative transitional justice policies after visiting regardless of their ideological priors. We test for the persistence of these results and find that some of the effects endure for six months following the museum visit. We find support for the notion that emotional appeals deployed in the museum can shift citizen attitudes, which might have implications for processes of reconciliation."

References

External links

* {{Authority control Museums in Santiago, Chile Human rights museums History museums in Chile Human rights in Chile Political repression in Chile Torture in Chile Museums established in 2010 2010 establishments in Chile Military dictatorship of Chile (1973–1990)

History

See also

References

External links