MEMORY-WORDS AND MEMORIAL MUSEUMS: THE EFFICACY OF “NEVER AGAIN” IN GUATEMALA
MEMORY-WORDS AND MEMORIAL MUSEUMS: THE EFFICACY OF “NEVER AGAIN” IN GUATEMALA

Summary/Abstract: This research examines visitor engagement with genocidal memorial museums expressed in visitor comments at the conclusion of the museum visit. We analyze the educative function of memorial museums in genocide prevention. Museums that advance a preventative function are gaining traction in the literature on transitional justice, especially that on non-punitive, restorative justice mechanisms. In this sense, we examine two museums in Guatemala and measure visitor engagement and the efficacy of never again. In Guatemala City, we examine the Casa de la Memoria, which presents the complete historical narrative of the Maya. In Baja Verapaz, we study the Rabinal Museo Comunitario de la Memoria Historica, exclusive to the historical memory of the Maya Achí and which seeks to educate about the genocide committed against them by the government between 1980 and 1984. We develop a typology of the comments we call memory-words left by visitors to each museum as recorded in their guest logs/visitor books and in other memorial spaces within each museum that allows for individual expression of the museum experience. Finally, we try to determine whether each museums’ typology of memory-words resulted in a particular message (specific to Guatemala) or a more universal message of never again that mirrors current mass atrocities world-wide, and if so, in what context.

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