‘In this together’: Memorials around the world unite with OKC to turn tragedy into remembrance
The Oklahoma City National Memorial and Museum says lessons from the 1995 Alfred P. Murrah bombing helped guide memorials in New York, Oslo and beyond.
OKLAHOMA CITY —
Twenty-five years ago, as New York faced the unthinkable, Oklahomans understood their pain in a way few others could.
Now, as the anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks approaches, KOCO is also looking at the bond that connects cities and countries changed forever by terrorism. The Oklahoma City National Memorial and Museum is spotlighting how those cities are working together to educate, remember and prevent.
After the 1995 bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building, Oklahoma City had to figure out how to remember and educate. Those lessons later helped shape memorials after 9/11 and the terror attacks in Norway.
Now, 25 years after 9/11, these memorials are working to pass those lessons on to a new generation.
After the 1995 bombing, New York first responders came to Oklahoma City to help. Then on Sept. 11, six Oklahomans were killed in the attack, as well as nine first responders who came to Oklahoma City years earlier after the bombing.
For the anniversary, the Oklahoma City National Memorial and Museum has an exhibit through the month of September on how the two cities are bonded.
“You’ll see a New York Times ad that we ran in 2001 on the first day they printed after the terrorist attack, and we’re reprinting that ad in this year’s New York Times, Washington Post and Pittsburgh newspapers. Just as a reminder that we’re all in this together,” said Kari Watkins, director of the Oklahoma City National Memorial and Museum.
The bond has since stretched far beyond New York. What Oklahoma City learned after 1995 has helped other cities around the world figure out how to remember and how to teach what happened.
“Through the years, we have helped other sites around the world as they begin to plan their memorial,” Watkins said.
One of those cities was Oslo, Norway.
“It’s so impressive to see what you have done. We had our terror attack on the 22nd of July, 2011, and from the beginning, the Oklahoma Memorial and Museum with Kari and also the 9/11 Memorial Museum were coming to Norway and helping us with building the memorial,” Lena Fahre, director of the 22 July Centre in Oslo, said.
Oslo opened its new memorial museum in July. Watkins went to Norway to help guide the city and commemorate the tragedy.
“It’s very hard to commemorate and mediate the brutality, but we have to go in to try and understand it because we want to prevent other attacks,” Fahre said.
Now, the directors of both museums will head to New York to speak with survivors, families and first responders, as well as to attend Friday’s memorial service.
“In this world of incredible noise and friction, that we have to come together to make things better,” Watkins said.
On Friday, the Oklahoma City National Memorial and Museum will release a documentary highlighting the partnership between five memorial museums, including Oklahoma City, New York City, Paris, Spain and Oslo.
The directors talk about the importance of remembering and educating future generations.