During this week, we were all told to read an excerpt from Postcards from the Trenches by Allyson Booth. In this excerpt she describes different kinds of memorials and most importantly shows the difference between a cenotaph and catafalque. She defines a catafalque as a "platform made to hold a coffin," and a cenotaph as "a memorial to someone who's corpse lies elsewhere." Later we were given the assignment to research any monument across the globe and analyze its effectiveness and symbolism. After googling "cool cenotaphs" I came across a unique memorial outside of Volgograd, Russia entitled, "The Motherland Calls." This 279 foot tall statue depicting a powerful woman holding a sword was built in 1967 in order to commemorate The Soviet Union's victory at the Battle of Stalingrad. Although, this memorial fits Allyson Booth's definition of a cenotaph, there was one distinct difference between it and all of the cenotaphs mentioned in the excerpt. In the excerpt, all of the cenotaph's either had the names of those killed in battle inscribed on it or some other way to remember those who died. Instead, "The Motherland Calls" has no inscription of any kind on it, even though it was commemorating one of the bloodiest battles of all time.
The way I interpreted this was that the architects were choosing to look at the battle not as a huge loss of life, but rather as a triumphant victory for the Soviet Army. Unlike most memorials, they were looking to evoke feelings of pride and nationalism rather than sadness and remembrance for those who died. However, the decision to essentially ignore the significant loss of life during this battle seems somewhat heartless and inconsiderate. Especially considering the fact that it is very secluded from the city, which Allyson Booth says is "conducive to a quiet contemplation." The lack of peacefulness and emotions portrayed by this statue negate the fact that it is so far away from society and might as well be located in the city to become "another familiar object of the busy town centre," where it is likely to be forgotten, much like the lives of those who fought in the Battle of Stalingrad.
What an interesting find, Caelan! I liked your interpretation of how the memorial stands as a beacon of pride and glory, rather than one that commemorates death and loss. Regarding its name, "The Motherland Calls", perhaps in Russia, their ideology is one that values community and union - perhaps they believe individuals are represented by the Motherland, and hold presence by its connotations instead? Although I agree with your critiques of the memorial's location and choice of representation, maybe Russia is of a different mindset. Nice post!
ReplyDeleteThis is a very intriguing memorial, and a very well done analysis on the absence on names. It made me wonder if there are any other memorials like this in Russia or in another country that create more nationalism than sorrow. I also wonder what Russians think of it and if they also value the motherland more than the individual.
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ReplyDeleteI appreciate how you found that this cenotaph is different than how a cenotaph was explained in the reading. Just as we talked about in class, perspective is very important here. While a family might wonder why a soldier's name wasn't inscribed, the government might want to portray the war as a victory rather than focus on the soldiers. Your conclusion of this was eye opening because it showed how this cenotaph was different than all the other memorials we talked about and explained how memorials can serve different purposes.
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