A FEB em Caxias do Sul: o museu enquanto um lugar de memória

Abstract

The present study presents the idea of the use of a pedagogical site as a support tool for the Museum of Ex-combatants of the Brazilian Expeditionary Force in World War II, located in Caxias do Sul - RS. In order to enhance the museum's pedagogical use, as well as collaborate to increase the visibility of the institution, the page functions as a complement mechanism and interpretation of the physical museum, without the intention of replacing it. The proposal is divided in three stages, the first one being a study about the context in which Brazil was inserted until the beginning of the war, deepening the political actions defined in Vargas' government until Brazil entered the war. This stage also brings to discussion the context in which small squares are inserted in the South of Brazil. The second stage deals with the problematic of memory and its places where these are more "intense", the so-called "places of memory". The third directly addresses the FEB Museum and its structures, both organizational and expository. The course of the museum is divided into eight steps, each of which explains the panels that constitute the chronology of Brazilian participation in the war. In order to construct the site, we used the most diverse sources that can be used to discuss the theme and to clarify the role of the squares in the world conflict. Among these sources were used: films, books, newspapers, periodicals, documents and artifacts that are part of the structure of the museum. The proposal shows the importance of these diverse sources for the teaching of history. The Brazilian is unaware of its history, so it has a fragile memory that changes easily and ends up not having many ties with the past. The study shows the richness of the museum as a place of memory and a tool for teaching history.