The exterior of the Sighet Memorial Museum in Sighetu Marmației The Memorial of the Victims of Communism and of the Resistance () in

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

consists of the Sighet Museum (often confused with the Memorial), located in the city of

Sighetu Marmației Sighetu Marmației (, also spelled ''Sighetul Marmației''; or ''Siget''; , ; ; ), until 1960 Sighet, is a city in Maramureș County near the Iza River, in northwestern Romania. Geography Sighetu Marmației is situated along the Tisa river o ...

Maramureș County Maramureș County () is a county (județ) in Romania, in the Maramureș region. The county seat is Baia Mare. Name In Hungarian language, Hungarian it is known as ''Máramaros megye'', in Ukrainian language, Ukrainian as Мараморо́щ ...

, and the International Centre for Studies into Communism, located in

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ) is the capital and largest city of Romania. The metropolis stands on the River Dâmbovița (river), Dâmbovița in south-eastern Romania. Its population is officially estimated at 1.76 million residents within a greater Buc ...

International Centre for Studies into Communism

The Centre was founded in 1993 by

Ana Blandiana Ana Blandiana (; pen name of Otilia Valeria Coman; born 25 March 1942) is a Romanian poet, essayist, and political figure. She took her name after Blandiana, near Vințu de Jos, Alba County, her mother's home village. In October 2017, she was ...

and . Created and administered by the

Civic Academy Foundation Civic is something related to a city or municipality. It also can refer to multiple other things: Civic or CIVIC can also refer to: General *Honda Civic, a car produced by the Honda Motor Co. *Civics, the science of comparative government *Civic e ...

, it is an institute of research, museography and education.The Sighet Memorial to the Victims of Communism
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Sighet Memorial Museum

The museum was created by the Centre for Studies into Communism out of the remnants of the former

Sighet Prison The Sighet Prison, located in the city of Sighetu Marmației, Maramureș County, Romania, was used by Romania to hold criminals, prisoners of war, and political prisoners. It is now the site of the Sighet Memorial Museum, part of the Memorial ...

in 1993."Short History of the Memorial Museum"
/ref> The restoration of the prison building was completed in 2000. Each prison cell became a museum room, which together presented the chronology of the

totalitarian system Totalitarianism is a political system and a form of government that prohibits opposition from political parties, disregards and outlaws the political claims of individual and group opposition to the state, and completely controls the public sp ...

Communist Romania The Socialist Republic of Romania (, RSR) was a Marxism–Leninism, Marxist–Leninist One-party state, one-party socialist state that existed officially in Romania from 1947 to 1989 (see Revolutions of 1989). From 1947 to 1965, the state was ...

. In 1998, the

Council of Europe The Council of Europe (CoE; , CdE) is an international organisation with the goal of upholding human rights, democracy and the Law in Europe, rule of law in Europe. Founded in 1949, it is Europe's oldest intergovernmental organisation, represe ...

identified the Sighet Memorial as one of the main sites that preserve the continent's memory, alongside the

Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum The Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum () is a museum on the site of the Nazi German Auschwitz concentration camp in Oświęcim, Poland. The site includes the main concentration camp at Auschwitz I and the remains of the concentration and e ...

and the

Mémorial de Caen The Mémorial de Caen is a museum and war memorial in Caen, Normandy, France commemorating World War II and the Battle for Caen. More generally, the museum is dedicated to the history of the twentieth century, mainly focused on the fragility of ...

References

Socialist Republic of Romania Research institutes in Romania Education in Romania Organizations established in 1993 Memorials to victims of communism Buildings and structures in Maramureș County History museums in Romania Tourist attractions in Maramureș County Prison museums in Europe Sighetu Marmației 1993 establishments in Romania {{Romania-org-stub