MEMENTO

To the best of our knowledge, this is the only memorial centre to animal suffering in the world.

MEMENTO is a manifesto in stone against injustice to our fellow creatures: animals …
MEMENTO is not only a place of remembrance and mourning. It is also a place of horror, indignation, personal conversion and active resistance. It invokes our empathy and affection in order to renew the fraternal bond between humans and animals.

After more than 30 years of experiencing at close quarters the horrifying suffering of so many animals, we finally decided to create a visible memorial, a monument against injustice to our fellow creatures –MEMENTO

Thanks to an earmarked bequest from a Swiss animal lover, we were able to purchase a ruined church and an abandoned churchyard not far from Frankfurt/Oder in Spudlow, Poland.
MEMENTO The memorial to animals we have created there with intense and painstaking work is – to our knowledge – the only one of its kind in the world.

Today the churchyard has been turned into a “Garden of Remembrance”.  The renovated church stands at its heart as a memorial to the suffering of our fellow creatures, the animals.

The “Garden of Remembrance” contains 83 memorial steles dedicated to cultural icons from the past two millennia – people who have proved to be important role models in animal rights and ethics and who have spoken out in favour of animals.

The once- ruined church bears 102 commemorative plaques on the walls of the nave – a reminder of the crimes committed against animals in the categories: “Victims of the Meat and Dairy Industry”, “Victims of the Luxury Industry”, “Victims of the Fur Industry”, “Victims of Blood Sports”, “Victims of Hunters”, “Victims of Fishing”, “Victims of the Timber and Palm Oil Industry”, “Victims of the Military”, “Victims of Animal Experiments” …

However, we must point out that this animal welfare centre – although in some ways reminiscent of its former purpose as a church – is not a religious institution nor is it is attached to any religion.

It is essential for us to define MEMENTO as a place not only of remembrance but also of horror, indignation, personal conversion, active resistance, a place of empathy and love in the fraternal bond between humans and animals.

The renovated church ruins lie at the heart of MEMENTO. The building deliberately evokes a ruin – a broken, battered, worn out and destroyed “being” – a symbol of the afflictions that our fellow animals experience on this planet thanks to us humans.

The renovated church ruins lie at the heart of MEMENTO. The building deliberately evokes a ruin – a broken, battered, worn out and destroyed “being” – a symbol of the afflictions that our fellow animals experience on this planet thanks to us humans.

Inside the MEMENTO Memorial are large panels showing the most common forms of animal suffering. It was no easy task to make a selection from the countless unpunished crimes committed against defenceless animals. We have inscribed 102 panels, well aware that these could be multiplied ad infinitum …

To make this awareness more visible, every visitor is free to light one of the votive lamps on the former altar – in memory of the animal suffering which is not mentioned here. May the intimate glow of the candles not serve to escape from this suffering but rather light the way towards compassion and solidarity …

HELP DIRECTLY WITH STAR MONEY

You can support the Pro Animale animal welfare organisation of your choice by becoming a ‘star money’ sponsor.

The large old churchyard, with its long-vanished tombstones, has been transformed into a Garden of Remembrance – but also a MEMENTO to some important role models, animal lovers, animal rights activists and animal ethicists that have made a special effort over the centuries to help our fellow creatures – and have demonstrated their affection and empathy in both words and deeds.

We have immortalised 83 of these visionaries on steles, with their names and professions, and the dates when they lived. We have also planted a rose bush beneath each stele.

The MEMENTO Garden of Remembrance is intended to encourage visitors to stay a while and engage with the ideas of these great thinkers – and perhaps reconsider the ways in which we treat our fellow creatures, the animals.

Since Pro Animale was founded 30 years ago, our activities have always been inextricably linked to rescuing animals. This has been a constant feature of our work. It is therefore only natural that we have created a SHEEP SETTLEMENT with a flock of over 50 sheep on the two-hectare (five-acre) plot where our information centre stands. And – as could hardly be otherwise – homeless cats from the surrounding area have also found their way there …

Visitors to MEMENTO can also get to know Pro Animale’s work in the immediate vicinity:

Kolebka Słońca (with more than 160 dogs), Copernika (with more than 180 dogs) and our Rendezvous with Animals (with more than 200 fosterlings) are all located near our MEMENTO memorial.

Sponsorship means an intimate bond

with your sponsored animal. This bond is vital for the safe protection of our animals.

Our book and DVD

If you would like to know more about MEMENTO, we recommend our book of the same name (available in English, German and Polish) and our DVD.