Memory of Civil Violence

MEMORY OF CIVIL WAR VIOLENCE MELIGALAS - GREECE

DIPLOMA THESIS

student: Alexandros Merkouris

professor: Vassilis Gkaniatsas

JULY 2014 NATIONAL TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY OF ATHENS school of Architecture

THE CAUSE

The cause for this diploma thesis is the political violence in Greece.

Man is a viewer of a violence divided to different sides and parties.

The massiveness and homogenization of violence presented to the receiver, leaves no room for the understanding and the critique of it. Violence is presented as a component of the press narrative.

The fragmented representation of political violence is often part of a narrative controlled and ideologically defined.

Political violence varies from verbal, psychological and physical. Violent conflicts are pushed by partisan groups and extreme ideological groups. The political dimension of violence encloses concepts, ideas and historical events of a hazy past, perhaps unknown, by the younger generation and renounced, deliberately forgotten by the previous generation.

Political violence appears to be the cause of a greater and deeper division because of the social and cultural roots that it is related with. The present situation of the Greek society has exposed fears, insecurity and memories. The extreme forms of violence occurring engender shock and they are preceded by a long period of fake prosperity that was interrupted periodically by deafening explosions of violence.

The explosions of political violence during this fake prosperity period was the result of a dark era in modern Greek history marked by division, violence and loss. This period was expressed and culminated in the outbreak of the Civil War. This period sets the time-frame of this diploma thesis.

THE TIME

The diploma thesis approaches the Civil War as the threshold of the Modern Greek State. During this period, there was the largest outbreak of violence between Greeks in the modern history.

The official period of the Civil War 1946-1949 set the zenith of violence without meaning that the beginning and ending of political violence in Greece are dated to this period. The term “civil war” describes in total the conflicts that incurred in Greece during the Nazi Occupation (starting in 1943) and lasted until 1949.

The Civil War involves three distinct phases: the outbreak of Civil War during the Nazi Occupation (1943) until the withdrawal of the Nazis from Greece (autumn 1944), the period starting from the Liberation until the decision of the Communist Greek Party to establish the “Democratic Army of Greece” (summer of 1946) and the ending period of the War with the defeat of the Communist Party (1949).

THE PLACE

The extreme use of civil war violence in the area of Meligalas indicates this site as the landscape of the diploma thesis. Meligalas is a town in South Greece where was conducted one of the largest battles during the Civil War, in September 1944. The entrance of E.L.A.S. (Greek People’s Liberation Army) in Meligalas just after the liberation from the Nazis, followed a three-day battle against the local Security Battalion Unit that was given control of the wider area of Messinia by the Nazis .The ending was the execution of hundreds of people in an old well outside the town of Meligalas.

This short summary does not extend to the exact events for two reasons. Initially the different views and perspectives about the facts do not allow an objective documentation. The different versions in terms of the number of the dead from the battle are a typical example of the controversy. The main reason though for the absence of a further analysis of the events occurred is a conscious personal choice of making a study that is not based on the analysis of historical data.

The reason that set Meligalas as the ground of this diploma is coming from the need to deal with places that are part of an ´unwanted heritage´. This monument is the largest one that refers to Greek Civil War. The management of collective and individual memories and the interaction between a large scale controversial monument and the visitors are concerns that this diploma thesis tries to approach.

METHODOLOGY

The peculiarity of the subject created the need for a different approach in terms of methodology. This thesis work does not include a thorough analysis of the existing site as a natural existence. Instead, it discovers notions coexisting on the site with its conceptual hypostasis. The result of this effort is a more abstract proposition that uses at the same time strong architectural tools.

The main notion that is analyzed is none other than the memory and its relation with the parameters of time and place.

MEMORY-TIME Time is the factor which makes the History of the past something foreign, interesting or indifferent for the generations of today. What yesterday was considered obvious today seems inconceivable, impossible or unreasonable. The generation of the Greek Civil War is a generation that has intense memories and tried to protect their descendants from the disaster that they experienced. The generation of ‘60 has shaped an identity by living in the shadow of the war and the newest generation, that no longer has any organic relation with this part of history, is facing a historical vacuum that shapes their present and affects everyday life.

MEMORY-HISTORY The concept of memory is defined by French philosopher Halbwachs as the reconstruction of the past using present data. In case of memory that includes historical events, facts and documents we can refer to the terminology of Halbwachs, who draws a distinction between autobiographical memory, historical memory, history and collective memory. Autobiographical memory is the memory experienced by everyone personally (although this memory is formed by the groups to which we belong), and the historical memory is the memory that comes to us only through historical records. History is the past that we have no organic relationship with, the past that does not play any significant role in our lives in contrast with collective memory that is the active past which shapes our identity.

MEMORY-PLACE After the factor of time, comes the factor of space to shape memory and convert a natural space to memory place. The memory needs location. When the location is not present, there is a possibility for the memory to be questioned and therefore be lost. Of course this is not always the case, since there are places where with the passage of time they have lost all traces of memory and yet the memory is kept in the minds of visitors unchanged.

IDENTIFICATION OF VIOLENCE IN MELIGALAS

The monument was constructed by Royal decree and it finished during the dictatorship. The symbols, religious and national remain dominant, while the imposing stone paths with stairs to the well and the tombs complete the monumental character of the construction. The dominant feature here is the Cross out of marble that has been built on the highest point opposite the entrance of the monument and marks the character of the place. The route through the monument is downhill with final destination the well. The rugged terrain combined with high vegetation does not allow direct viewing of both the well and the river situated on the southern border of the monument. The tranquility of the large open space surrounded by nature is in total contrast with the horror of violence committed at the same place. The monument of Meligalas is a place that causes intense charge to guests, a charge that is not the same for everyone. Ambiguous historical events, personal memories and political beliefs differentiate the spatial experience, an experience that is not realized by many for these reasons. So, the majority of visitors are either relatives of victims who are driven by strong individual memory or political groups trying to bring to the surface events of civil war violence.

THE PROPOSAL

The baseline of the design proposal is the maintenance of the controversial monument. The reason for this decision comes from the need to maintain all the aspects of history, as different as they are. The mnemonic character, which is formed at sites of memory, becomes especially interesting when it comes to places charged with ambiguous memory containing controversy and subjectivity. In this case the charge is not massive but involves one or more groups and causes varying reactions from the rest of society. The monuments of this character have been criticized and have dealt with different approaches around the world. The management of ´unwanted heritage’ is under research and reflection. In many cases these monuments destroyed so the place can ´rid of´ its dark history. The traces are disappearing and past can be archived. But the history will not be covered if the protagonists become invisible, if the monuments and the representations of History disappear from public image.

This is the reason why the thesis proposal keeps intact the monument. This area is part of a history, hard and controversial but the disappearance of it does not extinguish the memory of hatred from society. The project area of the student proposal puts the well and along the load and the history that carries out of the optical view. The proposal is placed opposite the monument alongside the river, surrounded by nature. The nature is the protagonist here and the silence covers all the sounds. A very strong reason for positioning the thesis proposal in this site is because of the history of Greek Civil War who culminated mostly in the countryside. Here we encounter the worst expression of civil war violence, in nature, in the mountains, in the villages.

CONNECTION The design proposal allows access to the site without the obligatory pass through the monument of Meligalas. This decision is not made to isolate the monument. The notion of distance is strong and necessary and allows a better reading away from loads which create the passage through the existing monument.

The bridge that is created takes the role of this association between the two projects.

FRAME Subjectivity, speculation and contradictory perspectives take here the form of fragments, fragments of memory, collective and autobiographical placed inside a frame. The architectural proposal therefore takes the form of a rectangular frame located underground creating a free geographical horizon. The neutral character of the shape is not trying to avoid the interpretation and comparison to the existing monument. Inevitably, any design decision alters the existing balance and the charge of the place.

ROUTE The project is located opposite the existing monument, taking the form of a rectangular frame. The visitor starts a path under the ground. The entrance is shaped through a ramp that drives the visitor to the underground level of the project. The space is conceived as an empty shell that is activated by the guest who breaks the silence and starts a spatial experience.

TOPOGRAPHICAL DRAWING

THE CONTENT

The study of civil war violence and especially the example of Meligalas indicates the peculiarity of this period, concerning the objectivity and the identification of historical data. The need to show the evolution of violence and division of the society through time, led to the creation of a platform that changes its data according to new elements, facts and research arising on the subject. The controversy and the subsection make impossible the presentation of an exhibition in the strict framework that a museum can display to the public. The collective memory that a museum exhibition presents based on documents, can not reveal the conditions under which the wave of violence started. These conditions are largely based on personal animosity between individuals, families, villages, and it is difficult to be presented, because they cannot be assessed as reliable or objective.

The thesis proposal locates the fragments of memory inside an archive that is the capacitor of memory, supplying permanent and temporary exhibitions.

PLAN Α’ LEVEL

F

G

D'

C

D

A'

E

A

F'

B'

C'

B

E'

G'

PLAN Β’ LEVEL

BETWEEN KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE The path that the visitor follows inside the project is a tour between personal testimonies and art content concerning civil war violence. The subjectivity of the witnesses and of the documents succeeds the subjectivity of the art that takes examples of reality to compose a unique story. The personal memory succeeds fiction and vice versa. Letters, photographs and testimonies are located between film screenings, exhibitions and art installations. The visitor receives incentives and information and he tries to decode with the use either of logic or emotion.

TESTIMONIALS SECTION The use of oral and written testimonies offers a potential for the understanding of an extreme period that History cannot deepen due to its subjective nature. The narrative of everyday life and small-scale events don’t illuminate the main incidents but the way in which these events took place.

The individual memories, fears and hopes construct small unique stories presented to visitors in the form of spatial experience, allowing freedom for everyone to collect, declare and create his own unique perspective. The testimonies hanging onto glass walls radiating natural light and refracting within the room.

ART SECTION The art section is exhibited in halls, presenting different art forms concerning the civil war violence. The separation between the art section and the testimonies is achieved by using different architectural elements. The use of art is defined by its ability to have a subjectivity that lies beyond the facts and historical documents and is consistent with personal memory.

The archive and the projection of art contain material from cinema, literature, poetry and visual arts.

CAMERA OBSCURA The ‘camera obscura’ seeks to a different form of representation of the existing monument. It is part of the art section because it attempts to act as a filter to the optical field of visitor. It seeks to break the power of static, majestic image that the monument of Meligalas has and eventually it works critically to it.

LIGHTING The main architectural element that defines the uses of the three rooms is the light. From the glare of the entrance in the focused light required for viewing exhibition objects, the linear light that serves as a guide of sound installations, until the absolute darkness of the room that works as a ‘camera obscura’. The invisible is visible not only through vision, since this is not enough to create an overall spatial experience.

PROJECTION SPACE The navigation through art and testimonial sections ends in a dark projection room.

This room presents films concerning the civil war and architecturally, constitutes the passage for the second and lower level of the project space. A narrow opening leads the visitor from the absolute darkness of the projection room to the bright light of the next open space.

SECTION Α-Α’

PERSONAL SPACE OF TESTIMONY The personal space of testimony is placed at the end of the spatial experience, just opposite the exit stairs leading to the surface. The guest from the entrance to the proposing project and throughout the route is an information receiver. But here, one step before the exit to the surface, the visitor’s role is reversed. Here the visitor turns from spectator into an exhibit. At this point he can place a personal testimony, memory or thought.

This material is collected, archived and exhibited. In this way he becomes part of the spatial experience and the personal testimonies and memories that are hanging on the walls.

SECTION G-G’

TEMPORARY EXHIBITIONS Here, in this tall and empty space, the visitor comes into contact with the overall picture of the structure. The linear path with successive halls ends in this tank that projects the negative of the level that proceeded. The halls are revealed here as solid long volumes floating over the visitor. In this space there are hosted temporary exhibitions, presentations and installations, concerning the civil violence from the Civil War to this day.

The site has a flexibility hosting different kind of events that can be divided into separate spaces with lightweight elements such as curtains.

SECTION Β-Β’

ARCHIVE At the same level, visitor encounters the heart of the proposing project, the archive. This site contains all the recorded events, art files, testimonials etc. The archive functions as a memory capacitor supplying permanent and temporary exhibitions. Closely connected to the archive is located the library which is open for Data searching and also offers space for reading and research.

SECTION D-D’

THE RIVER

The path that visitor makes, operates as a filter to allow him construct his own unique story, after viewing different perspectives on the same history. At the end of the route he is back to the surface, in front of the river, opposite the monument. This time however, the view on the monument surpasses the power of the strong image and the load of the site. Now the development of a personal memory that is created from the spatial experience stands critical to the massive and homogeneous confrontation of historical memory.