“BETWEEN MEMORY AND OBLIVION”
STUDY VISIT IN TRIESTE AND KOPER

The study visit “Between Memory and Oblivion” will take place in Trieste (Italy) and Koper (Slovenia)
from the 14th to the 17th of October 2022. Please organize your travel with arrival in Trieste on the
14th, and departure from Koper on the 17th. The organisers will provide the bus from Trieste to Koper
on October 16th.

The project

The project Between memory and oblivion: WWII places of remembrance (BMO) aims to foster a
discussion on WWII places of remembrance (former concentration camps, forced labour camps, killing
sites, prisons…) and combating the status of abandonment and forgetting these places often are facing
and consider places of memory in different European countries, focusing on the transnational
dimension of the Holocaust and other WWII genocides/systematic murder, while considering its local
and regional aspects.

Trieste and Koper between memory and identity

Given its peculiar location, Trieste has been a pivotal city throughout history. During the first half of
the XX century, it has experienced both socioeconomic growth and hardships and has been heavily
involved in both World Wars. It’s unique cultural and ethnic heritage, stemmed from its close
proximity to the sea, its relatively recent status as a free port and the fact it has always been a border
city, has made of Trieste a place where formal history and personal memories are not always aligned.
The presence of different minorities outlooks on historical events inside the city, made it so that it has
been difficult and controversial to keep track of them all, often resulting in discrepancies between
what’s officially remembered and what the territory has to offer.
During the two days in Trieste, participants will experience the less known facets of Trieste’s History,
they will visit forgotten or overlooked places of memory, learn about the minorities living on the
territory and get to know what projects and proposals are afoot.
An itinerary on identities and communities, not necessarily divided or in contrast with one another,
will be the focus of these two days. Participants will be invited to reflect on what sharing a place and a
history means, what it takes to coexist and what we can do to ensure every memory is respected and
recognised.

The study visit in Koper is meant for us to learn and remember about the socio-historical and political-
economic context of a multicultural society over the past 120 years and its impact on people and culture. We will learn what happened in these multicultural territories where inhabitants communicated in Italian, Slovene, Croatian and German languages, each group caring its own culture.

Historically the city of Koper has been important for its trade recorded since 932 with Venice and its
flourishing position within the Republic of Venice beginning its steady decline under the rule of an
Austro-Hungarian Empire. The establishment of Trieste as a free port was lethal and the decline
continued after WW1 when the territories in 1920 were assigned to the Kingdom of Italy (Treaty of
Rapallo). WW2 and the post-war period represent a further complex and dynamic reshaping of its
inhabitants, their culture and identity. The study visit will offer an insight into challenges and
weaknesses of the melting pot concept, a historic attempt of transforming a heterogeneous society
into a more homogeneous one.

We will learn that “melting together” different elements with a common culture is an attempt of
melting together “the executioner” and “the victim”- a fate of European integration and specifically of
its small nations. How much is this process viable if different groups don’t recognize as well as
acknowledge one’s own pain and the other’s pain? What’s the contribution of such a process to
reconciliation of small nations and coexistence within the EU?

Until October 6th you can sign up for this opportunity here: https://forms.gle/brmz8sBhxn7PiA3S8 do 06. October 2022. You can find more information in the info pack by clicking HERE.

 

PARTNERS:

1. Documenta – Centre for dealing with the past Croatia
2 Jasenovac Memorial Site Croatia
3 Max Mannheimer Haus Germany
4 Regensburg University Germany
5 Associazione 4704 Italy
6 Topografia per la storia Italy
7 APIS Institute Slovenia
8 Social Academy Slovenia