Problems of interpreting the specific "dark heritage" site in Lithuania: the Macikai camp
ENRecently there has been a growing interest in European societies in the so-called “dark (conflict) heritage”, a range of material objects commemorating the crimes and victims of totalitarian regimes. Such objects not only become places of attraction and commemoration, where the history of human suffering can be reflected upon, but also places of tourist destination or historical memory. The Macikai camps in Šilutė district can be viewed as a unique object in Lithuania not only in terms of its surface area and international significance but also in terms of gloomy transformations in its uses during and after World War II. The article gives an overview of the unknown history of the Macikai camps, examples of “dark heritage”, an analysis and interpretation of historical controversies relative to the creation of “conflicting” memorials. Based on general approaches adopted in the theories of cultural memory and realms of memory and historiographical data, the specific nature and possible uses of the Macikai camps in Lithuania as a site of “dark heritage” can be turned into a place of common European remembrance culture. Key words: Macikai camp, dark heritage, war heritage, Holocaust, places of memory, Lithuania, Gulag, historical narrative. [Extract, p. 283]
