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The destruction of memory : architecture at war

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  • Author: Bevan, Robert
    Date:
    Created
    2006
    Summary:

    A decimated Shiite shrine in Iraq. The smoking World Trade Center site. The scorched cityscape of 1945 Dresden. Among the most indelible scars left by war is the destroyed landscapes, and such architectural devastation damages far more than mere buildings. Robert Bevan argues here" "that shattered buildings are not merely "collateral damage," but rather calculated acts of cultural annihilation. From Hitler's Kristallnacht to the toppling of Saddam Hussein's statue in the Iraq War, Bevan deftly sifts through military campaigns and their tactics throughout history, and analyzes the cultural impact and catastrophic consequences of architectural destruction. For Bevan, these actions are nothing less than cultural genocide. Ultimately, Bevan forcefully argues for the prosecution of nations that purposely flout established international treaties against destroyed architecture

    Contents:
    • 1. Introduction : the enemies of architecture and memory
    • 2. Cultural cleansing : who remembers the Armenians?
    • 3. Terror : morale, messages and propaganda
    • 4. Conquest and revolution
    • 5. Fences and neighbours : the destructive consequences of partition
    • 6. Remember and warn I : rebuilding and commemoration
    • 7. Remember and warn II : protection and prosecution.
    Original Publisher: London, Reaktion Books
    Language(s): English
    ISBN: 9781861892058, 1861892055