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WHY SHOULD WE REMEMBER?

zine, to be published in 2021


comissioned by Sofia Platform



The zine Why should we remember? was produced by myself and Julian Chehirian - a curator and historian, at the summer school Memory and Democracy organised by Sofia Platform Foundation.

Sofia Platform Foundation is a non-governmental organisation supporting formal and non-formal history and civic education in Bulgaria. Since 2014 Sofia Platform Foundation has organised numerous academic and educational activities in and related to the gulag camp Belene, including an annual summer school.

The summer school “Why should we remember?” was organised by the Sofia Platform Foundation with the support of the America for Bulgaria Foundation, and gathered 23 young people from all over Bulgaria. The main themes of the program are the differences between democracy and totalitarian regimes, dealing with the past and its significance for the present and future. A variety of activities address those during the summer school – interactive methods, working with archival materials, visits to important historical sites, discussions with eyewitnesses, expert lectures.

The publication encompasses the thoughts, experiences and emotions of the participants through the mediums of photography and writing.




Image 1: A sign at the entrance of island Persin and the prison in Belene. Image 2: Screenshot from the book. Photograph of the Belene island complex.
Image 3: Screenshot from the book. Writing by Oktay Fikret about his meeting with survivors. 
All rights reserved. 2022.