A BATTLE FOR MEMORY, TRUTH AND JUSTICE. THE HOUSE OF DEATH IN PETRÓPOLIS AND ITS MEMORY GROUPS

Abstract

The Casa da Morte, located in the city of Petrópolis, more specifically in the Caxambu neighborhood, was used during the 1970s as an important clandestine center of the Military Dictatorship, in which opponents of the regime were arrested, tortured and killed. Innês Etienne Romeu was the only one who managed to stay alive to tell the story. With the enactment of the Amnesty Law, Innês is released and in testimony the Brazilian Bar Association tells of all the atrocities that she lived in the so-called Casa da Morte. At the end of the 1970s, Innês returns to Petrópolis and recognizes the House where she had been imprisoned, for political and ideological reasons. By recognizing Casa Innês, it gained national repercussion, and even when arriving at the property, he met the owner, at the time the German Mário Lodders. This revelation caused enormous repercussions in Brazilian society, and especially in Petropolitan. The matter came up again in full force in 2010, when various social movements in Petrópolis united to fight for the expropriation and overthrow of the Casa da Morte, demanding the establishment of the National Truth Commission in the city, to investigate the crimes committed during the Military Dictatorship in Petropolis. These movements manage to institutionalize the Municipal Truth Commission in Petrópolis and initiate many acts and manifestations around the theme of expropriation and tombstone of the Casa da Morte, as well as the creation of a Center for Memory, Truth and Justice. These movements take to the streets and carry out marches, vigils, plays, acts in front of Casa da Morte and gain great visibility in the local and national media.