War Memorials: Picturing Peace or Graphic Reminders
of Violence
They were arranged in neat rows, one on top of the other. Each was a
dingy greyish color, not the bright sun-bleached white you often see in the
movies. Row upon row they were stacked up, reaching to the ceiling at the
top of the pagoda, maybe 20 or 30 feet above my head. It was, in essence, a
sacred cathedral constructed of discolored human skulls.
Should I take a photo of them? Should I stand in
front of the pile and ask someone to take a photo with
me in it? Certainly this wasn’t the right time for a
“selfie.” That was beyond the question. But what is
the right thing to do at a place such as this? Some of
those around me were crying, but the overwhelming size
of this pile of skulls was quite numbing, leaving me
feeling strangely dumbfounded.
When Cambodia’s government authorities decided to
build this Killing Fields Memorial to the victims of
Pol Pot’s murderous Khmer Rouge regime, how exactly
did they want me to respond as a first-time visitor?
More importantly what do the souls who formerly
possessed these skulls think about this monument? After being beaten,
tortured, and beheaded, are they happy to contribute to this massive jigsaw
puzzle, or to they feel doubly victimized to be publically displayed for
the purpose of shock and awe? Is this the proper way to memorialize the
dead, and if not, is it justified to use them to educate others, forcing
them never to forget?
As a professional historian, I am fascinated with the ways in which
politicians, journalists, film-makers, and museum curators seek to preserve
the past and teach appropriate lessons for those who will follow. For
better or for worse, I have visited and studied many war memorials around
the world. Some, such as the World War II memorial in Washington, are
celebratory and triumphalist. Others, including its neighboring Vietnam
memorial just a stone’s throw away, are serene, somber, and quite literally
reflective. Many, including the memorial in Cambodia, are graphic,
disturbing, and even nauseating. Like the Killing Fields pagoda, the Rape
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