Memory of Silence

Memory of Silence is an edited one-volume version of the Guatemalan Truth Commission report, presenting the definitive account of one of the most brutal cases of government repression in the Western Hemisphere, a thirty-four year conflict forged by the Cold War, strongly influenced by the United States'' foreign policy, and so severe that the Commission determined that the state committed genocide against its own indigenous people. Despite its scope, significance, and impact, the conflict remains largely unknown outside the country, in part because until the publication of this book, the CEH report was largely unavailable in English and only available in Spanish in its unedited, twelve-volume form. Memory of Silence presents the voices of Guatemalan victims and the Commission''s analysis of a conflict that created a culture of terror, forced neighbors to commit atrocities against each other, and killed over 200,000 people. Despite the difficult, painful, and tragic nature of the conflict, the Commission stated that its commitment to truth "should leave no room for despair" and should instead inspire Guatemalans and others around the world to pursue peace and the defense of fundamental human rights.