The German philosopher T.W. Adorno once wrote: “The abundance of real suffering tolerates no forgetting”.

Remembering a historical period of repression gives rise to powerful forces. The memorial presents a warning about hazardous developments in the here and now or in the future by means of referring to the past. The memorial enables the (re)writing of history -which has often been distorted or denied. It may be an important element in preventing future violations of human rights. This preventive warning function, however, is not the only objective nor the only way of remembering.

In addition to remembering certain periods of history, the persons victimised by this period in history are also remembered.

A memorial does not only present a warning but also serves as a means for recognition, acknowledgment and comfort. People who after a period of repression, are forced to live on with a ‘disappeared’ relative, are often confronted with misunderstanding by their environment. People who have not suffered under the regime and even more people responsible for this regime, wish to forget this period in history as soon as possible. Relatives are often told that their country has no record of disappeared persons at all. And if the environment does acknowledge the existence of disappearances, it is often argued that it must have been the fault of the disappeared persons themselves; that they were terrorists; that a bad marriage was the cause or that the disappeared persons have simply fled…

Through preserving the memory of the victims and acknowledging the injustice brought upon them, at least rehabilitation of the good name has taken place.

A monument or a memorial may contribute to the relatives’ recognition and rehabilitation which they have been denied for so long. A monument indicates that something has really happened and it also provides the disappeared persons with some sort of redress. During the oppressive regime they might have been called communists, capitalists or terrorists and this was the cause for their persecution. A monument does justice to their ideas and character. If the monument reveals the ideas and convictions of the victims, this indicates that their message lives on and that the struggle continues. In this sense it makes the disappeared persons immortal.

A monument is not only intended for the victims relatives and passers-by, but also for the perpetrators responsible for a disappearance. If the monument is centrally located, it presents a daily confrontation with the horrid past. For the relatives the monument has special significance. In addition to rehabilitation, it also has a humanising function. Victims of human rights violations from the past are often anonymous: the dead, the ‘disappeared' person. A monument turns this abstract category into concrete and personal victims. The victims become people of flesh and blood.

Naming names, in particular, contributes to humanising the victims because a name is the most personal thing there is. It enables to identify persons and forms part of the individual identity.  Some names rise above individual identification and identity. They become the symbol for a particular group. In each country one can find a disappeared person who appeals to the imagination in such a way that he or she becomes a symbol for an entire category of disappeared persons.

Naming names is a sort of ritual forming part of the memorial or monument. A monument or memorial without rituals or attendants is no more than a ruin. Rituals are intended to give presence to those who are absent. In addition to naming names, burning candles, speeches or conscious silences also are a form of ritual.