Postmemories of Terror: A New Generation Copes with the Legacy of the ‘Dirty War’

244 Pages·2005·1.257 MB·English

by  Susana Kaiser (auth.)

Postmemories of
Terror
Palgrave Studies in Oral History
Series Editors: Linda Shopes and Bruce M. Stave
Sticking to the Union: An Oral History of the Life and Times ofJulia Ruuttila, by Sandy Polishuk;
Foreword by Amy Kesselman (2003)
To Wear the Dust of War: An Oral History, by Samuel Iwry, edited by Leslie J.H. Kelley (2004)
Education as My Agenda: Gertrude Williams, Race, and the Baltimore Public Schools, by Jo Ann
O. Robinson (2005)
Remembering: Oral History Performance, edited by Delia Pollock (2005)
Postmemories of Terror: A New Generation Copes with the Legacy of the “Dirty War,”by Susana
Kaiser (2005)
Growing Up in The People’s Republic: Conversations between Two Daughters of China’s Revolution,
by Weili Ye and Ma Xiadong (forthcoming)
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by David P. Cline (forthcoming)
Life and Death in the Delta: African American Narratives of Violence, Resilience, and Social
Change, by Kim Lacy Rogers (forthcoming)
Voices from This Long Brown Land: Oral Recollection of Owens Valley Lives and Manzanar Pasts,
by Jane Wehrey (forthcoming)
In the Wake of Kent State: Campus Rhetoric and Protest at the University of Nevada, by Brad Lucas
(forthcoming)
Sisters in the Brotherhoods: Organizing for Equality, by Jane Latour (forthcoming)
Postmemories of
Terror
A New Generation Copes with the
Legacy of the “Dirty War”
Susana Kaiser
POSTMEMORIESOFTERROR
© Susana Kaiser, 2005.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any
manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief
quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.
First published in 2005 by
PALGRAVE MACMILLAN™
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PALGRAVE MACMILLAN is the global academic imprint of the Palgrave
Macmillan division of St. Martin’s Press, LLC and of Palgrave Macmillan Ltd.
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and other countries. Palgrave is a registered trademark in the European
Union and other countries.
ISBN 978-1-4039-6465-6 ISBN 978-1-4039-8022-9 (eBook)
DOI 10.1057/9781403980229
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Kaiser, Susana, 1945–
Postmemories of terror : a new generation copes with the legacy of the
“Dirty War” / by Susana Kaiser.
p. cm.—(Palgrave studies in oral history)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-4039-6465-6 (pbk.)
1. Argentina—History—Dirty War, 1976–1983—Influence.
2. Argentina—History—Dirty War, 1976–1983—Public Opinion.
3. State—sponsored terrorism—Argentina—Psychological aspects.
4. Memory—Social aspects—Argentina—Buenos Aires Metropolitan
Area—History—20th century. 5. Youth—Argentina—Buenos Aires
Metropolitan Area—Attitudes. 6. Youth—Argentina—Buenos Aires
Metropolitan Area—Interviews. 7. Public opinion—Argentina—Buenos
Aires Metropolitan Area. I. Title. II. Series.
F2849.2.K34 2005
982(cid:2).024—dc22 2005047561
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
Design by Newgen Imaging Systems (P) Ltd., Chennai, India.
First edition: December 2005
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Printed in the United States of America.
A los desaparecidos
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Contents
Series Editors’ Foreword . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ix
Acknowledgments. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xi
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
ONE
Conversations about Knowledge: Why Did It Happen? . . . . . . . . . 23
TWO
Conversations about Fear . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
THREE
Conversations about Silences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
FOUR
Conversations about Awareness and Denial . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
FIVE
Conversations about Impunity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
SIX
Conversations about Indifference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
SEVEN
Conversations about Justice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
EIGHT
Conversations about the Communication Media . . . . . . . . . . . . 147
NINE
Conversations about Representing the Horror . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169
viii / Contents
TEN
Conversations about Human Rights Activism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183
Afterword . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197
Appendix A: Chronology of Events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201
Appendix B: Glossary of Terms and Individuals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203
Appendix C: Questions Topics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205
Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209
Bibliography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 225
Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 233
Series Editors’ Foreword
Susana Kaiser’s Postmemories of Terror extends the geographic reach of the Palgrave
Studies in Oral History series to Latin America. More significantly, in a contempo-
rary world invaded by terror, confronted by torture, and concerned with human
rights, her work is particularly relevant.
Argentina’s military dictatorship between 1976 and 1983 earned an infamous
reputation for torture and terror. Thousands joined the ranks of the desaparecidos,
“the disappeared,” who were taken into custody by the dictatorship, never to be seen
again. Their fate left an indelible mark on Argentine society. For many years after the
events, groups such as the Mothers and Grandmothers of the Plaza de Mayo gathered
on a weekly basis in Buenos Aires to keep alive the memory of those lost and the
shame of the nation resulting from “the Dirty War.” This volume explores how a
younger Argentinean generation attempts to make sense of an era of which they have
little or no direct memory.
While oral history ordinarily involves firsthand memory recalled years after
events have occurred, Susana Kaiser employs the theory of “postmemories,” which
has been used to understand how the children of Holocaust survivors cope with the
traumatic experience of their parents. What do young Argentineans know about
what happened during the dictatorship? How did they find out about it? What sense
do they make of these events? The volume is based upon sixty-three interviews under-
taken by the author, who focuses upon themes such as justice, human rights, societal
silence and fear, the imposition of terror, accountability, and just plain indifference in
the face of dramatic events. Kaiser’s analysis is probing and her insights should con-
tribute to our understanding of how future generations may comprehend traumatic
events in a post-9/11 world. Hence, her work transcends the focus on Argentina and
has the promise of wide application.
We are pleased to include this volume as part of the Palgrave Studies in Oral
History series, which is designed to make oral history accessible to the general reader
as well as to students and scholars. As the series grows, it is our intent to demonstrate