Today, the government has chosen to memorialize the darkest chapter in New Vanguardia’s history as a message to its people now and in the future that they must be vigilant against injustice. The site is the former headquarters of the Special Department of the New Vanguardia Police Service, the nexus of torment for so many in the country. Over 1,000 people were killed on the grounds, and many times more spent extended time in the complex being starved and tortured. The site has lain dormant for years but, recently, a push has been made to reclaim it in the name of education and history. The ultimate result is the opening of this new museum, officially called the Museum of the Crimes of the Crisis Regime, a measure applauded by historical societies and human rights organizations around the world.
Visitors to the museum will be educated about the repressive police state which was introduced by the Strength Movement Party. The fascist turn of the SMP will be explained, as will the formation of resistance. Depictions of the torture methods used are intended to demonstrate just how cruel the SMP jailers were. While most of the museum has been renovated in order for it to serve as a visitors’ space, a significant amount has been left virtually as-it-was, allowing guests to truly bear witness to the pitiful state which prisoners were left in.
The State Delegate and State Commissioner for Education were both present at the opening ceremony. The Delegate made a statement which is reprinted here:
“Thirty-eight years ago, the people of New Vanguardia declared independence from the beast of the Aulden Empire. But a part of that beast remained within us. Humans are like animals in many ways. We cannot forget that cruelty is part of us, even if we wish it wasn’t. And if we want to overcome cruelty, we can’t ignore it but we have to face it down.
“How did the SMP come to power? That is the question we always ask ourselves. How did they hold onto power? These questions haunt us as Vanguardians. They force us to realize that we have not reached the end of our potential yet. They remind us that we can always fall back.
“We cannot ignore the particular suffering which was undergone by the people of the Monolatrist and the Fiveist faiths, and the Romanse-speaking community. Our brothers and sisters of those groups have come to view this place as a symbol of hatred. For this reason we wished to tear it down, to make ourselves forget what we did. But there were those of our people, wise ones, who made it clear that we must not forget, that we must remember what was done here, by relations of ours or by those we knew.
“One of the greatest triumphs of the General People’s Party has been that we not only stormed this place and freed its final prisoners, but we dismantled the entire corrupt system of policing which had subjected this sovereign country for many years. We have done our utmost to reduce the beast within us and within this great land. We keep it here, as a reminder to what may happen if we are no longer watchful.
“As we work to build better days, we have to remember what the bad days were like. If we forget that we are capable of this, and what those capabilities lead to, how can we know not to create them again? But we make this vow: never again will this be a land of cruelty and oppression. We look forward to the changeover in power, when the General People’s Party transfers its full authority to the State Assembly. But we must remember why the General People’s Party came to lead New Vanguardia for so long.
“The Museum of the Crimes of the Crisis Regime will stand as an embodiment of that memory. An embodiment of the darkest period in New Vanguardian history. And by keeping it here, and by not forgetting it, we remind ourselves to make sure that all future days will be brighter.”