In the Netherlands, the Dovenshoah monument in Amsterdam, unveiled in 2010 on the former site of a school for the deaf and hard of hearing, commemorates Jewish deaf victims. Three words appear on the monument in sign language: world, remain, and deaf. The accompanying inscription reads: The world remained deaf / In memory of the Jewish Deaf victims of the Nazi regime, 1940 – 1945. The message is deeply symbolic. While the word deaf is often understood as implying absence or deficiency, its meaning is inverted: it is the hearing world that was“ deaf” to the cries of the victims.
In contrast, another monument in Poland highlights active resistance. The Monument for Deaf Insurgents, located at the School for the Deaf in Warsaw, honours the school’ s alumni who fought in the 1944 Warsaw Uprising as members of the Home Army. The monument was unveiled by Karol Stefaniak, himself a deaf veteran, who participated in the uprising at the age of thirteen. Revealing more of these acts of resistance helps challenge the enduring stereotype of disabled people as passive victims.
Exceptional individuals: the legacy of Louis Braille in the twentieth century
Another form of remembrance centres on individuals of exceptional achievement. These figures are often able-bodied educators or advocates for people with disabilities, but one remarkable exception is Louis Braille( 1809 – 1852), perhaps the most famous blind person in history. Born in the French village of Coupvray, Braille lost his eyesight at the age of three and later attended the Royal Institute for Blind Youth in Paris. There, he developed a tactile communication system for the visually impaired which now bears his name. The Braille system allows users to read and write the same texts as those printed in conventional fonts, transforming literacy and education for generations of visually impaired people.
The commemoration of Braille’ s legacy reflects a common feature of memory culture: anniversaries, particularly those marking a birth or death, often spark new initiatives. Initially buried beside his parents in his home village, Braille’ s remains were transferred to the Panthéon in Paris on 22 June 1952, the centenary of his death. This pantheonisation represented the highest civic honour France can bestow— an accolade shared with figures such as Voltaire and Victor Hugo. During the ceremony, the renowned American educator and disability advocate Helen Keller( 1880 – 1968) compared Braille’ s contribution to Gutenberg, the inventor of the printing press. His legacy continues to be celebrated annually on 4 January, designated by the United Nations as World Braille Day since 2019. The observance is part of the UN’ s commemorative days, weeks, years, and decades, aimed at promoting advocacy and raising awareness through governments, civil society, and educational institutions.
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