Counter-Memories

Vietnamese-American novelist Viet Thanh Nguyen and historian Drew Faust engage in a conversation about the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. – a black granite wall engraved with the names of Americans who died in the Vietnam War, often cited among the most highly controversial armed conflicts in United States history. Departing from this specific monument, Faust and Ngyuen ask: Do war monuments not only commemorate but also victimize certain groups?

The Green Book was established by African-Americans in search of spaces for freedom of movement against a backdrop of white supremacist Jim Crowe policies throughout the U.S. When the Green Book was most circulated, Pennsylvania Avenue in Baltimore, Maryland was an energetic hub of African-American arts, culture and entertainment. Artists Ada Pinkston and Angela N Carroll examine the contrast between the cultural vibrancy of this past moment and the lack of resources of this present day.

Philosopher Susan Neiman, director of the Einstein Forum, joins Paul Holdengräber for a conversation about the Soviet Memorial in Berlin’s Treptower Park. The monument was erected in 1949 in memory of the thirteen million fallen soldiers of the Soviet Union who gave their lives fighting fascism. On the anniversary of the end of World War II, people commemorate their fallen loved ones there. But despite its monumental size, it has little presence in the collective consciousness of the German capital.

The art historian Veka Duncan and author Elianna Kan discuss the Tlatelolco district in Mexico City. After the severe earthquake in 1985, the residents erected a sundial to commemorate the victims. The history of Tlatelolco resembles a palimpsest: historical events have left their traces, and in turn have been covered over by other events but never completely obliterated. Their conversation revolves around collective memory, the appropriation of public space and public remembrance beyond state intervention.

The synagogue in Stommeln is one of the few places of public Jewish life in Germany that was not destroyed during the 1938 pogroms. In order to create a new perception and attention among the population, the conceptual artist and professor of public art Mischa Kuball illuminated the synagogue over a period of eight weeks. In a conversation with curator Paul Holdengräber, he takes us to the synagogue and tells us the almost forgotten history of this special place.

This episode focuses on the Levi Harrington Memorial Marker in Kansas City. Harrington was the victim of a racial terror lynching in Kansas City in 1882. To this day, efforts to create a memorial for him are met with denial and vandalism. Poet and activist Glenn North, Staci Pratt (Equal Justice Initiative, Community Remembrance Project of Missouri) and journalist Amira El Ahl discuss how to rectify a lack of recognition of lynching and racial conflict in Missouri.

The series started on “Indigenous People's Day,” a holiday that is meant to commemorate the history of Native Americans. Curator Paul Holdengräber talked with artist Joel Garcia about the Serra statue in Los Angeles. A statue in honor of Juniper Serra, who was instrumental in building the California mission system during the Spanish colonization. The statue was removed by activists in June 2020.