Publikation

Rwanda has become a symbol of the modern-day failure of the world to end genocide. The 17th anniversary of the Rwandan genocide in 2011 provides an opportunity to reflect on the universal goal of preventing genocide and to work towards a comprehensive understanding of how other people commemorate and deal with reconciliation issues.

One of the most controversial issues hindering reconciliation in Rwanda is commemoration. Survivors see it as the only tangible means to remember and mourn by crying those who perished in the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi. Relatives of perpetrators, however, often prefer to take holidays during this time. Of course, this coping strategy is considered to be dubious and inconsiderate by those in grief or fighting with flashbacks of trauma. What to do? How to commemorate? Can Rwandans collectively deal with the past and instigate a joint healing process?

These questions were leading the Rwandan human rights and peace-building organization "Never Again Rwanda", when they organized a study tour to Germany and Poland with representatives of the National Commission for the fight against Genocide (CNLG), the NGOs IBUKA, AVEGA, AVP, and the Kigali Memorial Center.

Organized with the financial and technical support of the Civil Peace Service (ZFD) of the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), the trip was the first step of a learning experience meant to inspire the Rwandan society in finding a balance between the urge to commemorate the past with its longing for a reconciled future. Thus, the title of the project is programmatic: "Sharing the Past - Shaping the Future".

This film follows the Rwandan delegation during their trip, visiting sites of the Holocaust in Berlin and Auschwitz, discussing with German and Polish commemoration professionals, reflecting on similarities and differences of the historical experiences, and sharing their personal stories.

Filmed at House of Wannsee Conference, Berlin, Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, Berlin, Nelson Mandela School, Berlin, Topography of Terror Documentation Center, Berlin, Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and State Museum, Poland, and on the train between Berlin and Auschwitz.

A film by Ivo Brandau, Copyright 2011 NAR, ZFD, GIZ