The Multidirectional Memory of “La Violencia” in Colombia

Colombia has suffered from chronic political violence at least since the mid 1940s. In the midst of the conflict politicians, academics, journalists, and writers occasionally made sense of the violent events and casualties by making references to Holocaust memory. This presentation draws on the concept of multidirectional memory coined by Michael Rothberg to take distance from more usual interpretations in which distinct memories compete with each other. By analyzing a series of novels, testimonials, opinion editorials, and academic works written or published during the 1950s, I seek to describe the memory of “La Violencia” and highlight its multidirectional nature. I will also explore the fact that, unlike the cases explored in Rothberg’s work where multidirectionality led to the strengthening and articulation of memories, in Colombia victims of 1950s violence did not awaken feelings of solidarity and their demands were generally ignored by the Colombian state.