The Site of Witness and Memory is the only memorial which commemorates the victims of the communist regime from Shkodra. Being one of the main centers of Communist repression in Albania, the city where an Atheist Museum with anti-religious propaganda was built after the Cultural Revolution of 1967, this museum tells the story of people who suffered for their beliefs and moral integrity. It has been rebuilt in the area of former Dega e Brendshme (local branches of the Ministry of Interiors). The most interesting part are the original pre-trail holding cells with a small opening for natural light, commonly called holes (because of their small dimension and few light) where prisoners were kept and tortured until their initial trial appearance.This space is divided in two floors, but the ground-floor cells are the oldest and it is here that most political prisoners were kept. Near the cells, there is a courtyard where prisoners were kept during their out-of-cell time. Here we also find a small door which connected the prison area to the nearby offices of Dega e Brendshme, where the most violent tortures were inflicted. The passage to the cells runs through a newly-built gallery with elements symbolizing torture and pain. At the end of this gallery, we find exposition room with objects used and produced in prison, manuscripts, letter-writing between prisoners and their families.This small collection has been donated by former political prisoners and their families. Of great interest is the glass panel in this room which shows some documents of time stating the force and brutality of the regime towards Shkodra people. Other important spaces offered are the audio-visual room where you can watch some video materials of the time and a small library with prison literature, provided by the Institute for Communism Crimes and Consequences in Albania.Our mission is to create a collective memory of the past, to address new generation who should become aware of the past mistakes and never repeat them again.
