In the very center of Odessa, in the building of the Main Post Office, there is a new location for preserving the memory of the victims of genocides, studying the causes and consequences of genocides, responsibility for the crime of genocide, which is connected to a platform for discussions. The authors of the design project are 4th-year students of the Department of Architecture of Buildings and Structures of the Odessa State Academy of Civil Engineering and Architecture.
The "Territory of Memory" site contains information about the development and content of the concept of genocide, the role of Raphael Lemkin in its creation, information about the tragedies of seven genocides of the 20th century: the Holodomor, the genocide of the Crimean Tatar people, the Armenian genocide, the Roma genocide, the Holocaust, the genocide in Rwanda, the genocide in Srebrenica, as well as the genocides of the 21st century. Separate expositions will be dedicated to genocides in Ukraine, including the genocide of Ukrainians by Russia during the military aggression against Ukraine in our days.
The expositions will tell about the victims of genocides and the righteous who saved them; criminals and lawyers who ensured that the perpetrators were brought to justice, as well as about the proof and political and legal qualification of these events.
The main emotions that are emphasized are human compassion and the desire to understand the pain and tragedy of the victims of genocide and to realize the importance of the inevitability of punishment.
The main goal is to interest the visitor, arouse interest in the study of genocides, try to understand how and why the killing of people on the basis of belonging to a certain group became possible and by what methods it was carried out. To show what happens to society when people stop fighting and even noticing evil and violence, that genocide is the most serious crime against humanity. Pay special attention to the responsibility for genocide, which is provided for by international law.
Instrument of information transfer – various multimedia programs: reconstructions, interactive expositions, media installations, films, search databases that allow you to independently find additional information. As well as photographs and chronicles, since they are documents that directly testify to the events of the genocides.
Project experts:
- Timur Korotky – Vice-President of the Ukrainian Association of International Law, Leading Researcher of the State Scientific Institution “Institute of Information, Security and Law of the National Academy of Legal Sciences of Ukraine”, Candidate of Law, Associate Professor.
- Ihor Shchupak – Director of the Ukrainian Institute for Holocaust Studies “Tkuma”, Member of the Board of Directors of UJE (Canada), Member of the International Auschwitz Council (Poland), Member of the Ukrainian-German Commission of Historians, Candidate of Historical Sciences, Honored Worker of Education of Ukraine.
- Nataliya Hendel – Researcher of the Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights, Candidate of Law, Associate Professor.
- Project Architect: Nataliya Merzhievska – Head of the Department of Architecture of Buildings and Structures of the Odessa State Academy of Civil Engineering and Architecture, Candidate of Architecture, Laureate of the State Prize of Ukraine in the field of architecture, Associate Professor.
- Technical support of the project: Stanislav Pavlov – specialist in project management, software development management, resource and personnel management in IT.
The project is implemented with the support of the Memory. Dignity. Freedom Foundation (President of the Foundation Veronika Komakha).