Historical reparations after 40 years of democracy

Abstract

In this article, we aim to revive the essential work of repairing the records of members of the University community who were victims of the illegal actions of State terrorism. The Human Rights Observatory, which is part of the Department of University Extension of the National University of Córdoba (UNC), and the Provincial Archive of Memory are jointly carrying out the search, repair, and delivery of records of UNC students, teachers, administrators, and graduates. The objective is to document the true reasons that led to the disruption of the work or academic performance of those who were victims of the last and bloodiest civic-military dictatorship that our country endured. These are stories of lives that were intentionally erased and, during years of impunity, their memories were dishonored by the very State responsible for those crimes. Through this work, we aim to highlight that the dictatorship would not have been possible, at least in its entirety, without the collaboration of civilians who, from within the students’ boards, provided lists of names to the perpetrators and betrayed students, teachers, and administrators. The first academic unit of UNC to complete the task, which took almost three years of work, was the school Escuela Superior de Comercio Manuel Belgrano. On September 15, 2023, they handed over the records to the relatives of the victims from that institution. Leading up to this restitution, there was a long journey spanning many years, during which various academic units worked tirelessly to unveil the truth. The institutional contributions made to bring these records to light were invaluable. With this writing, we believe that efforts such as the reparation of records are crucial in the process of constructing collective memory to stand against denialism and its associated behaviors of hatred and oblivion, which aim to dismantle social bonds.